I need a hero
by BlackblackAngel
Summary: Elise wants just to run away from her life, she hates this world but she can't change it. But what happens when it's another world that comes to her? She will be the prey...or the hunter? [OC/Yautja]
1. A Wish

**Hi to everyone! This is the first fanfiction I write in English so if there are some mistakes please let me know and tell me what you think :)**

 _1\. A Wish_

 _Earth, morning, in a remote forest in the middle of nowhere…_

At this point, I didn't know if I had to be really, reeeally tired (as always) or if I had just to accept the fact that my life was definitively going to be a giant piece of shit. What the hell I was doing? Why I continued to get involved in these things in the hope that something will change? In other words: WHY I was in this fucking place, in this fucking car with these fucking people that I didn't want even to see or talk to? I lost count of all the times I've said to Angela: " _Please Angela,_ I don't need to do a picnic in the middle of nowhere just because you think that in this way I'll have to talk to other people and try to exit from my _state of depression"._ Was it helpful? Obviously not. Soooo…here we were: I, Angela, Michael, Kate and Jeff; and we were all ready to spend the most beautiful three days of camping of our lives! Yeeeeaaaah….maybe I could commit suicide. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the scenery around me that always seemed to be the same, focusing my attention only on the music that came out of my headphones: Linkin Park, "bleed it out". I was about to fall asleep (for the second time) when a hand on my shoulder shook me slowly. It was Angela who was trying to tell me something

"…"

"Can you repeat?" I turned off my iPod

"I said we are arrived Elise, take your bag and be ready to get off" she gently smiled at me, but she knew too well my feelings about this. She was the best friend I had and worried too much for me; I knew she was doing all this for me but sometimes her obstinacy was unbearable. Jeff stopped the car in a forest clearing and opened the car door

"Time to set up the tents, guys!" he got out and began immediately to take the tents from the baggage car

"The honor is all yours, boy scout" Kate followed him with Michael, taking the map with her

"And you?" Angela looked me

"Remember me why I accepted all this" I sighed, unable not to appear annoyed

"Because I asked you, a lot of times"

"Well, we can also say that you forced me" I answered with a half smile. Angela rolled her eyes and looked Jeff, then turned again her gaze on me

"Listen, now I go to help him, if you want to rest another bit you can do it, but you cannot stay in this car all day, ok?"

"…Ok…let me just see how you're doing"

"You will be surprised!" she gave me the best of her smiles and went to help Jeff. Angela was always so enthusiastic. I turned on the music and watched the other guys get busy. Maybe even for me it was time to do something more constructive…so I took my book for nursing students and started to study. I didn't know how much time passed, but while I was still studying the music of my iPod suddenly shouted down

"Uh?" I looked up from my book: Jeff had opened the car door and was looking at me with disappointment. I knew him too well to know that he was going to make me one of his classics reproaches; he was always been the classic good guy who gave advice and helped others, especially me…

"What the hell are you doing?" his tone slightly upset

"I have an exam, Jeff, the last exam" a very pathetic excuse, but it was the only one that came to my mind; I already foresaw his reaction

"Yes, sure…" he took the book from my hands and didn't seem willing to return it

"Jeff…" I started "I know that you and the others are doing all this for me, and believe me, I appreciate it but…"

"No, you have to listen to me" he came closer "we are all worried about you Elise. In these weeks you have been so sad and sick…I know that sometimes people just need to stay alone with their problems, but _please_ try to talk with us. Look around you: nothing in this place can hurt you, nothing and nobody, we are your friends and we want just your happiness. I brought you here so you can stay away from everything, but _this…"_ he pointed the book "…I know it's important for you, but for now it's…no good. And your father…" he stopped, making a guilty expression

"I know Jeff, don't worry. It's just…ok, you're right, take that book and hide it somewhere. I… I will try to stay better" anyway I knew that he wouldn't give me back the book, it would be useless to try to protest. Jeff smiled softly and put an hand on my shoulder, whispering gently

"Remember" his brown eyes met mine "just smile, you're beautiful when you smile"

"Hey, boy scout! We need a help here!" Kate was having serious problems to set up her tent

"oooook! Leave it to the Boy Scout!" he moved away. I remained to look at him thoughtfully until I saw Angela who approached with an amused expression

"He loves you" she got into the car and sat near me, adjusting her black hair behind the head. We were so different: she had a perfect black skin without any trace of imperfection, her face had delicate features and her body was very attractive; on the contrary my skin color was so white that seemed to have never seen the sun and my face was the most common in the world, like my long hair and brown eyes. Fortunately my body was quite athletic; I tried to go to the gym three times a week. I always thought she was even more beautiful than Kate, the classic skinny and blonde girl

"I know, I'm sorry"

"Oh please Elise, we have already discussed" she sighed

"You are the right girl for him, not me, and he's really stupid to not understand it"

"Thanks" she smiled. We remained silent for a few seconds, and then Angela started to ask me

"So, do you want to talk…about your situation?"

"Even if I talk…nothing will change"

"Yes but…it can help you" she looked me with a sad face

"I don't know. Thanks for all, but it's not simple…sometime is…embarrassing"

"Elise I'm here for you, please don't make me so worry"

"And when you aren't worried? Or anxious or…" I smiled amused

"ok, ok I understood" Angela looked out of the car "nobody on the left, nobody on the right…let's close the car doors…and now you can speak to me freely, pleeeeeeeeease" she made me sweet eyes

"…I can't resist when you make me that expression" I smiled "but you already know that the situation isn't good"

"I know" she was ready to listen to me. I took a deep breath

"Well…you already know that my parents divorced three years ago and they started to consider me the "wrong daughter" and that my life has never been easy, but in these days the situation worsened: my father wants to go away with his new partner in another country and this is a big problem for me; without him I can't complete my training in the hospital or even to hope to get a job in his department"

"Your father is a respected surgeon; he will find someone that can help you to ending your training or find a job" I shook my head in resignation

"He doesn't care about me, especially now he has the opportunity to change his life and forget about his "mistakes", like me"

"How do you know that?"

"Because he told me this"

"Oh…I'm so sorry Elise" she gently caressed my shoulder "and…your mother?"

"My mother went crazy. Her partner left her two weeks ago and now she is out of control. Sometimes she goes out in the afternoon and returns in the morning of the next day. I don't know what she does and I don't care, I just want she continues to give me the money to end my studies" I looked Angela in her eyes "sometimes…it hurts, it really hurts"

"I'm so sorry Elise…" she bit her lip, her eyes already full of water

"No, no, no, don't start crying. Believe me Angela, I can survive to this. The real problem is: I can't do anything! I can't just leave, I don't have enough money nor know where to go and for now there isn't a solution! This makes me crazy!"

Angela hugged me, starting to cry

"No, no, please don't…" this was the reason why I didn't want to be here. I didn't want someone felt sorry for me or to take charge of such a big problem. And yet, no matter how much I tried to be strong, the pain that I felt inside needed to be released. I hugged Angela and let the tears fall

"I'm here Elise; I know I can't do anything but…" she sobbed

"It's all right, thank you my friend" it wasn't easy, but Angela was trying to do something to make me feel better and I couldn't make her suffer because of me. I dried my tears, and in that moment someone knocked on the glass of the car door

"Hey, are you ok?" Michael watched us worried. To be honest, I thought he wouldn't come with us, turning away from me for my behavior and preferring to play football or be alone with Kate, but I was wrong. He was a good guy…and my friend. Angela stopped crying and I opened the car

"Yes, don't worry"

"...I'm going around the area to get some firewood, maybe take a walk will make you feel better"

"Yeah, maybe" I smiled, feeling the need to relax my mind and don't think about bad things

"Good! But we have to be careful, I looked at the map and it seems there is a ravine in that direction" he pointed north

"Jeff always chooses the best places to camp!" Angela started laughing

"I hear someone laughing at me! And in any case I chose this place because near the ravine there is a huge cave that we can explore and also a street that brings us near the coast"

"Wait a sec, what do you mean to _explore_?" Kate didn't seem so happy

"Don't worry, I did my research on internet and it's not dangerous; maybe we can find something interesting: minerals, fascinating creatures like bats or…"

"What?! Ok guys you can go with him, I will go to sunbathe on the coast"

"Oh no no Miss, you will come with us" Jeff grinned amused

"This is unbelievable! Elise, please, save me!-

"I think you have no choice" I smiled, ready for my little vacation.

 _In the middle of the Night._

It didn't matter how far I was from home, the nightmares returned continuously. I could only keep watching the stars and asking myself what I could do to change my life, to do something to survive, to be finally free. I just wanted to study and find a work like all normal people do…No. It wasn't true. I hated this world, I hated the rules of this fucking world...but I couldn't change it. I could only try to survive…

"Elise?" that sudden voice made me jump; I turned toward the tents

"Angela! You scared me!"

"I turned around and I didn't find you. Is there any problem?" Angela yawned

"Nothing, it's just…the sky is so beautiful…" I lied

"Yeah, it is true" she smiled "did you have fun to explore the _magic cave_?"

"Sure, Kate was terrified! It has been something funny to see"

Angela smiled and yawned again

"Don't stay out for long, it's cold"

"Ok, good night"

"Good Night" Angela returned to sleep and I returned to look the stars. Oh, a shooting star. A smile appeared on my face; maybe the sky wanted to hear my prayers. Well, I tried anything and this is obviously ridiculous but…why not?

\- Please _…_ can someone help me? Anyone, _anyone…_ _whoever you are, please save me…-_

It was stupid, but I really believed in those words. And now…time to sleep. Time for nightmares.


	2. Run

**And here is the second chapter :) Please if there are mistakes let me know and tell me what you think.** **In any case thanks for reading!**

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 _2\. Run_

 _The ship was falling down, the preys were escaped and all their companions were dead. There was only one choice: an emergency landing on that planet known as "Earth". They couldn't leave Kainde Amedha free, but the controls were out of order and even if they could try to destroy the ship there was no guarantee to kill them all…especially the newborn Queen. No, they had to survive, they had to find and kill those monsters. The two hunters locked the door of the control room to avoid being attacked from the creatures hidden on the ship and prepared their weapons for the hunt._

"Elise! _Elise!"_

"hmmmm...no, please...I'm so tired..." I said in a drowsy voice; the nightmares had continued to torment me all night long

"Damn, Elise! Wake up! _"_

When I opened my eyes, I found Angela with a scared expression on her face

"Angela, what's the problem?" I searched for my cellular: 7.00 am! ooooh let me sleep...

"Dress immediately and follow me!" she was almost screaming

"Calm down, please, if you are so kind as to explain…"

"We heard a huge noise just few times ago and there is a column of smoke coming from the forest!"

Ok, this was something to worry about. Even I was still tired I started immediately to take my clothes. A huge noise? I was so tired that I didn't hear anything! I put on my jeans and my t-shirt and I left the tent

"Good morning Elise" Jeff came near me, he didn't seem so concerned

"Jeff what the hell is going on?" I said looking around

"Don't worry; Angela cares for nothing. As you can see..." he pointed the column of smoke "...I think it's a fire so..."

"There's a fire in the forest and I have to calm down?!" I looked at him in astonishment

"Listen" he sighed "the only thing we can do is to take our tents and bags and get out of here. The fire isn't so close and we have all the time to leave and come back to the city...I'm sorry"

"No problem..." yeah, I was ready to come back to hell "but it's better if we move quickly; did you call the fire station?"

"There's no field here. I'll try again as soon as possible" he put a hand on my shoulder and whispered gently "I'll find another way to make you feel better ok? If you don't want to come back and the situation is too stressful…I live alone...if you want to stay away for a while...just for relax your mind..." my eyes went wide in surprise. I couldn't believe what I was listening, Jeff chose the worst time to tell me, but maybe he wanted to ask me from the beginning of this trip

"...thanks, but you know this isn't the solution" and I didn't want to hurt his feelings; besides we didn't have time for this. I just had to continue to survive until the day I'll leave my house and be finally free...only with my forces...even if I was so tired to wait...

"Ok guys! Let's get a move on!" Michael had already dismounted his tent. I took my bag from my tent and started to get my things as quickly as possible: clothes, toothbrush, hairbrush, water, medical kit...

 _A terrible and inhuman scream came suddenly from the forest..._

Wh-what? What was that noise? I looked in the direction where I thought I heard the sound

"We have to hurry! The fire is scaring forest animals, it means that it is expanding quickly!" Jeff helped Kate with her tent; I continued to put in order my things as fast as possible

"But...what kind of animal makes a sound like that?" Angela asked with anxiously

"Angela don't stop" I said "stay calm and put your bag in the car. If we hurry we'll be fine"

Angela looked at me and I smiled. She took a long breath

"Thanks Elise, I feel so stupid someti..." she stopped "...d-did you hear that?"

Yeah...sounds of footsteps near us. We remained silent for a few seconds

"Oh come on!" Michael exclaimed "let's move! The fire is coming!" he took his bag and put it in the baggage car

"You're right" I said "please help me with the te…"

 _And then it happened..._

A huge and black creature came out from the forest and jumped on the car. No time to think, no time to talk, only to watch...

"What the..." Michael's last words. The creature took him with that huge tail...through his body...immobilizing him. All that blood...Holy s…

" **RUN, FUCK! RUN!** " Jeff screamed. Instinctively we started to run, avoiding the car and forced to escape in the direction of the fire, while behind us I could hear distinctly the horrifying screams of that creature. I didn't look back, terrorized to say the least; my heart was pounding, my breath accelerated and the adrenaline rush that pervaded my body pushed my legs to run faster than they ever have done. I slowed down just a second when I heard a scream and a cry for help behind me, but when the silence returned my legs instinctively resumed running. I could feel the tears on my face, Kate…

" _Elise! Elise!_ "

I turned my head sharply and I saw Angela running to my side, even her face wet with tears

" _Please_ , help me! I can't run so fast!" she tried to grab me with her hand. I didn't think twice, grabbing her hand and forcing her to run faster

"Stop crying! You're wasting breath!" I screamed to her. We continued to run in the forest, the column of smoke ever closer…The monster or the fire: if there was the possibility to escape from the creature the flames and the smoke would kill us; if we tried to avoid the fire going back the beast could catch us. What to do, **what?!** We could just escape?! Like every single instant of my life?! _Fuck!_ I didn't…

Angela screamed and pulled me back strongly, just in time to avoid the deadly embrace of the creature. It was right in front of me…and my body stopped reacting. Like a prey too frightened to run away I couldn't move; I was terrified, so terrified…The creature advanced slowly toward me, hissing threatening, and the tears bathed my cheeks. I didn't feel anymore the hand of Angela, realizing I was completely alone now. It was the end…and I thought about all the time lost to escape from my problems, to avoid my fears instead of facing them. I had been so stupid, and the creature was so close, opening its mouth and revealing a tongue with another mouth…

Suddenly a light dazzled me and everything went white for a few seconds. Instinctively I brought my hands to my eyes, rubbing them and groaning in pain. When I started to see again, the creature's body was lying some meters from me, with the head smashed. I looked around confused and my gaze met with…I didn't know how define it. At first it seemed to be a human being but when I looked to…his body, surely I was wrong: he wore a very strange kind of armor and a mask covered his face; his hair seemed like some sort of dreads and his skin was a dark brown who became a cream colored on his chest

"Elise…" a terrified voice called me submissively and only in that moment I remembered that Angela was still there with me. I wanted to turn toward her, but I couldn't look away from that…being in front of me. He seemed so deadly dangerous, and at the same time so…reassuring…

A red light distracted my attention: it seemed to come out of something that he was carrying on his shoulder and pointed in my direction. What was it?

A horrible scream broke the silence and I immediately recognized the cry of the black creature. No! A-another one?! I looked at the being in front of me, who had started looking around nervously; the red light disappeared

"Elise!" Angela took my hand "please, _run!_ " she pulled me away and my legs moved instinctively, following her again in the direction of the camping. And yet I could not help but looking back more than one time, thinking about that strange…he. Suddenly I heard a roar behind me but it didn't seem the black creature

"W-where are we going?" I asked, slowing a bit

"Everywhere but not here!" she pulled me forward, forcing me to speed up again

"He…he saved our lives!" I said without thinking

"He wasn't human, Elise! He wasn't! Shut up and run!"

What…what should I do? Where could we go? Where we could…escape again?

" **OH FUCK!** " Angela stopped and started to scream, grabbing my arm forcefully. ANOTHER black creature running in our direction! This time I screamed too and tried to draw back; fuck, **FUCK!** I was reaching the limit! The creature jumped…but never came to us; the car hit that monster and threw it away for several meters. The car…THE CAR!

"HURRY! COME IN!"

"…Jeff… _JEFF!_ " It was Jeff! It was really him! Oh it wasn't a dream! Angela literally threw herself in the back seats while I took place near Jeff

"Hold on! I'll try to take you out of here!" Jeff pressed the accelerator and the car rushed away in the forest. For now we were safe…but why I couldn't shake off this strange sense of guilt?


	3. Change

_3\. Change_

"That monster is chasing us? Do you see it, Angela?" I asked, turning to her. I couldn't believe to be still alive: just few minutes ago a giant black creature was about to kill us, and now, thanks to Jeff, we had a second chance of salvation. My hands still trembled visibly, and I breathed deeply to recover from that mad rush. Angela nervously watched the road, wiping her tears and trying to calm down

"No, I don't see it…but I can't be sure". We kept looking behind us for several minutes, too scared to stop, until exhaustion took over. I sank into the car seat and sighed, relaxing muscle a little and looking absently out of the car window. There was a brief moment of absolute silence until I felt that the car was slowing down; I turned to Jeff a doubtful look

"Don't worry, I don't want to stop" he started to say "but I need a break. I'm sorry…in this jeep I feel tossed like a ball in the pinball and my stomach will not resist much longer". I was about to tell him that there was no time to rest and we had to reach safety as soon as possible, but looking at his exhausted expression, his breathing, and his wide eyes I understood that he was so nervous that he could have a panic attack in any moment and certainly neither I nor Angela were in conditions of driving to his place; probably even she understood, remaining silent and looking at him worried. Now it was the time to remain calm and to understand what to do; **I** wanted to understand what to do…I was scared, but even tired to run away…I put aside these thoughts; our lives were in danger and there was no time for these reflections

"Jeff" I looked him "do you have any idea?"

"As you know near the ravine there's a street that leads to the coast; we can take that road and from there we can go back to the city. Then we can call the police, surely the cops will not believe in the story of the _aliens_ but we can talk about the fire in the forest and they will be forced to check. And then I don't know…even the army could intervene, but at that point it will be no longer our problem. It seems the most logical solution" but I wasn't so sure. Yes, probably (certainly) I couldn't do anything against those monsters, but at the same time the idea of sending someone to check the situation, with the risk of being killed by one of the beasts, because we...because **I** was too much weak, disgusted me; I didn't want to accept it, even if what was happening was out of my control.

My thoughts went to Michael and Kate. I knew they were dead and I felt guilty: the fact of being in this place was a mere coincidence, but…If I had been stronger, if I had overwhelmed my problems…there wasn't a reason to come here and none of this would have happened. They would still be alive…and suddenly a question came to my mind

"Jeff…how did you take back the car?" and when he didn't answer but continued to drive without even looking me I seriously began to worry. I waited still a little, but he continued to remain silent and then I asked to him again. He swallowed hard and began to stutter

"I…please, don't think badly of me…do you remember? We started to run in the forest and…Kate was near me" a chill ran down my back as he continued "…the alien appeared behind us, she…couldn't run so fast, but I was so scared…" his eyes began to shed a few tears, oh my…

"You…left her behind" Angela looked him in shock

"W-what could I do? I-I just wanted to go back and…"

" **YOU LET HER DIE! YOU MURDERER!** " Angela attacked Jeff and began to hit him without control; he instinctively raised his hands to protect himself and the car swerved dangerously. Impulsively I took the wheel and put my foot on the brake pedal; the car stopped abruptly and turned off. Angela was beside herself

" **YOU LET HER DIE, BASTARD! YOU LET HER** …"

"ANGELA STOP!" I tried to block her arms

"I'm sorry! _I'm sorry!_ I was scared…"

It took several minutes to stop her, and when she finally consumed all energies she started crying desperately, cowering on the back of the car. I couldn't do anything for her so I looked Jeff, and in that moment I really wanted to die...because his eyes looked at me deeply, and I knew that they were telling me " _I did it to save you_ ". The silence in the car was broken only by Angela's sobs. I felt devastated, desperate, tired...again I sank in the seat, closing my eyes. It was all my fault, at this point _…I would rather be dead…_

My ears sensed something: footsteps; someone was running, was getting closer…and was huge. Angela stopped immediately crying and looked around scared, like me and Jeff. The noise was closer and closer, awfully close to us; and then…moved away as it was arrived. We waited a few seconds in silence, Jeff talked for first

"W-what the fuck was? A-a T-Rex?" he whispered trembling. My heart was beating hard, the fear returned again. We looked at each other, and suddenly something jumped on the car, scaring us to death. The cry of the black creature filled our ears, and we screamed in terror. Jeff tried to turn on the car but the tail of the alien broke the car window and didn't kill him for few centimeters. I tried to help him, but Angela screamed

"OH NO! **LOOK!** " she pointed to left: two other black creatures were approaching. **Shit!** They run against the car and jump on it, trying to break it

"JEFF! TURN ON THIS FUCKING CAR!" I cried in desperation

"I'M TRYING!" but he was too terrified to do it, his hands trembled convulsively. What could we do now?! WHAT THE F…! A blinding light flashed near the car and hit the creatures on the left; again everything went white

"I CAN'T SEE!" Angela screamed. I was blinded too, but a sudden joy pervaded me; I knew it was him: the alien with the mask. When I started to see again, I immediately looked around to find him; he was behind the car, and was fighting! He was fighting _alone_ against _three_ of those creatures!

 _No fear, no hesitation, just fight._

Jeff turned on the car

"Let's get out of here!" he said. I reacted impulsively

"No!" I opened the car door, ready to get out. I didn't know what I was thinking, nor what I really could do; I had only a thought in my mind: this time…I didn't want to run away. Jeff grabbed me firmly by the arm and stopped me from moving, Angela grabbed the other

"Let me go! Let me go!" I tried to free myself, eager to help the armored alien

"Elise, what the hell are you doing?! It's dangerous! Who is that guy?!"

"Jeff listen to me, he can help us! He killed one of those creatures, he did it!" I shouted

"DON'T listen to her, Jeff! That _thing_ is a monster like the other creatures!"

"No, no! Let me go!" It was no use, Jeff was too strong for me and my arms began to ache; I wanted to look the fight but from my position it was impossible, Damn! All of a sudden we heard a series of terrible uncontrolled shouts and roars, and the glimmer of the light that now I knew to be a weapon, such as shots of a gun. And then only silence...very silence...too much silence! I took advantage of the distraction of Angela and Jeff to free myself, and finally get out from that fucking car. I ran towards him…but he… _he…_

"Elise, stay away!" Jeff was screaming, but I couldn't hear him. I was watching the alien…and I felt my heart stopping. The black creatures were dead, but they brought him with them; his body was covered with green blood… _his blood_ , and his mask… _his face…_

"Elise?" Angela gently touched my arm, waking me from the state of trance in which I had fallen; but when her eyes fell upon him she covered her mouth to keep from screaming

"You were right Angela, he wasn't human…" I couldn't take my eyes off from that skin, from those dreadlocks, his mouth and those mandibles "…but…but…" he was fighting! He didn't escape!

 _No fear, no hesitation, just fight._

I began to cry without restraint; Angela hugged me and my sobs grew louder. I was crying for him, it could be stupid but it was the truth. Probably he would have killed us without a second thought after the black creatures, but the only thing I saw was a warrior that had faced something bigger than him, and has won, even if it cost him his life. I didn't know how long it took me to calm down; I felt really tired and empty, and my eyes were burning terribly. Angela patted my head gently, as if I was a child, waiting for me to dry my tears

"Do you feel better now?" she said with a soft voice

"Yes…I'm sorry, we have to go right? Just…give me a second"

"Ok" Angela went near the car. I looked one more time the warrior. To be honest I didn't know exactly what to do or say, still unable to accept his death; my eyes ran on his body, the desire to remember him as he was: scary but brave. And in that moment my gaze fell on something interesting. Weapons: two knives, a whip and a kind of gun over his shoulder, the one who fired that strange glow. I didn't have to think much

"I'm sorry, warrior, I promise to put them to good use" and so for first I took the knives and the whip. I noticed also a kind of spear there on the ground and a strange metal object near his body; I tried to open it in some way and putting pressure on a specific point some blades came out, looking like a big shuriken; then I tried to take the gun, but because of his weight it was difficult to remove

"Elise?" Angela called me, her voice had an insecure tone

"Give me a hand" I turned to Angela and I showed her the spear "It weighs a bit, but it could serve, and we can try to take the gun"

"Elise, there's, there's…"

"What's the problem? These weapons can help to…" I heard a hiss behind me; I didn't have time to turn around

"ELISE!" Angela pushed me away and I fell awkwardly to the ground

"Damn, Angela! What the hell…!" Angela was still looking me, but she had no expression on her face; she couldn't speak…or breathe…not anymore…the tail of the black creature had pierced her stomach. In a split second I realized she would die, and my world went to pieces. Angela, my Angela, my best friend, the only person who had never ceased to be close to me even in the worst moments…

The rage was stronger than fear. I grabbed the spear and with a wild scream I impaled the creature with all the strength I had. The spear pierced the neck of the alien, who cried out in pain, but I didn't give up and continued to push deeper and deeper, continuing to scream in anger. The creature slowly stopped moving, Angela's body slumped to the ground, with the tail still impaled in the stomach. I was immediately next to her, taking her hand

"Angela…Angela…" I was desperate, my voice was shaking and I knew there was nothing I could do; I could just keep watching her eyes, while life was slipping away from her. I didn't cry, I had no more tears, but I stood staring her eyes...those beautiful eyes that I had always envied. And when she died, a part of my soul went away with her. I don't know how much time passed, but I felt a hand on my shoulder

"Elise…" it was Jeff "maybe…it's time for her…" to rest in peace, so I closed her eyes and…I prayed, I didn't know who but I prayed. Then I got up without saying a word and I went to take the spear still impaled in the creature. I discovered I was very lucky: that part of the spear was corroded, the blood of that disgusting monster was corrosive and I was unharmed by sheer luck; the other part of the spear was still good so I decided to keep it, like the rest of the weapons, except the gun that it was impossible to remove

"Jeff…"

"I'm here"

"Let's go…"

We got in the car, ready to resume the journey. I couldn't feel anything, no emotions, no thought. Nothing could scare me now, nothing could hurt me, death didn't scare me anymore...I was ready.

 _No fear, no hesitation, just fight._


	4. The Queen

Hi! It was difficult for me to write this chapter, it's a little more complicated then help me with errors please. Give me some suggestions if you want and even if you don't have an account please write some reviews, I love the reviews and I like to know that people read my story :) I hope you like it!

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 _4\. The Queen_

The journey continued in silence down to the coast. There weren't other attacks by those black creatures so we were able to stop in our old camp to recover some things: my bag, a bottle of water and something to eat. We didn't find Michael's body. I wasn't hungry but my body was tired and required energy, so I forced myself to gulp down something and also nutritional supplements. After some time we left the forest and the ravine was straight in front of us; for a simple tourist the landscape had to be beautiful: from this height you could see the coast and the sea around her; for me it was the only way that would save me from this nightmare. We were really going home, I was really going back into my personal hell, but this time I was ready...

I turned my head to the left and I recognized the cave that we explored yesterday; Jeff took my hand and squeezed it gently, trying to smile

"Kate...seemed really scared when we entered in there" he started to say "...maybe I shouldn't insist so much to explore that cave"

"Yes, she was scared, but at the same time she was having fun as much as we" I looked at the sea again "…I hope the police find her body, then we will give to her and the others a proper burial"

"Do you…believe that the government will try to hide everything? I mean the aliens and that other..."

"The warrior. Maybe; I would like to bury him too, he didn't deserve to be left there"

Jeff didn't answer; he continued to hold my hand. I took a deep breath, but a sudden roar startled me; I turned my head sharply, it came from the cave

"Oh shit" Jeff left my hand "those creatures again? We must immediately…E-Elise?"

I wasn't listening him, I was too busy to take action: I emptied my bag and I put in the "shuriken" and the spear (I had discovered during the trip that the touch of a button could shorten the two ends); I put the two knives in the pockets of my jeans, breaking them, so I could take them with me and have both hands free at the same time; then I gave the whip to Jeff

"We have to take a look" I said without hesitation

"But, but…are you crazy?! After all that we have endured?! After all that **you** have endured?!"

"I don't think you can understand; I escaped for a long time Jeff, and if I don't do something now…"

"Someone else will do it!"

"And that someone else might die because I ran away! If I will die here I will die fighting, not running away!"

"I LOVE YOU ELISE!" he screamed. I stood silently staring at him, he continued "I love you; I would do anything for you, I let a friend die because you were more important than anything else, and I cannot let you die right…!"

Another roar, this time closer; our eyes focused on the cave…and I couldn't believe my eyes: another warrior was running out of the cave, followed by... _my- god_...a giant black creature, the size of which seemed really those of a T-Rex; the warrior continued to shoot and to use a whip like the one I found on his dead companion. I opened the car and I was ready to help him, but Jeff took my hand again and looked me straight in the eyes

"Elise" he said my name with a pleading voice "I beg you…"

Our eyes stared at each other for a moment, but a loud thud caught my attention: the creature had thrown to the ground the warrior and threatened to impale him with the tail. I looked Jeff again

"I'm sorry, but I will not let him die this time" and so I pushed him away, getting out of the car and running in the opposite direction. I was right behind that enormous beast; I had to think to distract its attention

" **Hey gigantic piece of shit**!" I shouted with all my strength, the creature looked back at me " **yeah, I'm talking to you, asshole! Fight with me if you dare, I'm here!** " the creature looked at me a moment...then it turned back to the warrior lying on the ground. It had ignored me! Damn you… I took the shuriken in my bag, I opened it and threw it as hard as I could; the shuriken struck the creature on the back and from the wound came a big gush of blood; the "T-Rex" cried out in pain and turned to me...really pissed off

" **Yeah, it hurts asshole? Take me! ME!** " I started to run, avoiding for a breath its big tail. Think Elise; think… you have to take time to help the warrior to regain his strength. I decided to go back into the forest, hoping that trees, rocks or else give me some advantage to get away; the adrenaline flowed in my veins as drug and the fear accompanied my every step, but this time I was stronger. My strategy seemed to work: running through the trees I could hear the creature hit anything in its path and its steps became slower; I had only a few scratches on my arms and face. But I knew that wasn't enough, how to kill that fucking monster? I had to have an idea and quickly. Ok, ok…so: there is a very deep ravine and down the ravine there are rocks, but how can I push down the creature? Need something heavy…the car! Yes, but how can I tie the creature to the car? I hadn't ropes or something similar…the whip that I left at Jeff? Maybe it could be…I tripped and fell tumbling to the ground, ouch! My arm! I tried to get up but the creature suddenly stepped out and tried to devour me; I began to roll on the grass to avoid being hit but in this situation my chances of survival decreased drastically. It was a roar to save me, distracting the black creature and giving me time to get away; as soon as I got up I saw the warrior without the mask who was facing openly that monster, with his mandibles wide open. Intentionally or not, those fighters had saved my life again. Ok, now that I had the opportunity it was again time to put in order the ideas: the car and the whip, I had to go and get them; if the warrior helped me to distract "Mr. T-Rex", I could find a way to tie one leg to the car…but maybe now I could slow it down. I took advantage of the distraction of the monster and took a knife out of my pocket, please don't notice me... with a somersault I found myself right between its legs, and quickly I impaled the knife in one of its ankles, avoiding just in time the blood that spurted out. The creature screamed furiously but didn't have time to attack because the warrior fired a shot on its face. Our eyes met just a second...then I ran away as fast as I could. I couldn't believe what I had done, but I had done it! I felt fear, but the determination was stronger...I had lost too much to have still fear...I came back as quickly as possible, although fatigue was beginning to be felt; I was back out of the forest and...Jeff wasn't there; the car wasn't there, he…was gone. I was incredulous, I hadn't even thought about such a possibility; I was sure that he wouldn't fight but at least I believed that he would wait for me, and would go away only after making sure of my death. Maybe I had counted too much on him? Or on his love for me? It was the fact that I was really in the shit. My whole plan was going to fuck off; I put my hands in the hair and tried desperately to another solution, looking around to find something useful. I hadn't time to think, because that fucking "T-Rex" suddenly appeared out of the forest; Oh shit...where was the warrior? We were just us: me and the creature. Ok, new plan...I could only hit the legs; I had only a knife and a spear half corroded… if I wanted to think of my last words this was a good time. The creature was still ahead of me...but it didn't move; it was growling and wagging the tail, but…it remained firm in front of the cave…probably protecting something… but that was the least of my problems. I had to make it fall in this fucking ravine, if only there was a way... I approached the ravine and at the same time I tried to move towards the cave; the creature began to growl stronger, if only I could provoke it enough to make it closer to the ravine...I made a few more steps, slowly I took the spear from my bag and...the sound of a car horn startled me.

Jeff's car suddenly appeared out of the forest at full speed, taking me by surprise. The car hit the legs of the creature and the monster fell right on it, but Jeff didn't slow down... he continued to head towards the ravine. Without thinking I took the knife and ran to pierce the already injured leg of the creature, preventing it from getting up. The creature began to scream, but the ravine was close and the legs were already over the edge, but Jeff didn't slow down…Jeff! Jeff couldn't get out of the car! Think Elise, think! You had to…he looked me…and I understood. The heart began to make me so bad to take my breath away; I had no more tears, but the pain didn't vanish so easily, and Jeff had made his choice. In that precise instant...I loved him as he would have liked. The creature fell into the ravine, bringing the car with it…and then silence; only silence… my heart was burning in my chest

"Jeff… _thank you"_ I wanted to leave, I really wanted to go away from this place, from my city, from this world...but the way forward was only one, therefore…

A cry made me turn abruptly to the ravine… _No…_ I walked over to the edge and looked down: the creature was climbing on the rocks...it was safe…

I was pervaded by an uncontrollable rage and a strong killer instinct; I took the spear and opened it, waiting for the fucking monster…and I waited…and waited… the creature's head popped out from board of the ravine, and when it saw me it started to scream; I aimed well with spear

"Take this _fucking bastard_ " and I impaled the spear deep into its throat. The blood flowed profusely and the creature began to slowly suffocate, and I wanted to enjoy every drop of its suffering. Unfortunately I wasn't careful enough: the creature attacked me with his claws; without losing the grip on the spear I tried to avoid the hit but a claw pierced my arm. The pain was terrible, but I continued to hold the spear. This monster had to die... **this time it had to die!**

And so it was; the creature stopped moving slowly and only when it was really dead I left the spear. My heart, my heart was beating so fast...I looked up to the sky...and I let out a wild scream; in that cry there were all my frustration, all my anger, my pain, my tears and my triumph…everything. And then forces began to abandon me; I looked at my arm and I realized that I was losing a lot of blood, and without the adrenaline the pain became even stronger

"My…my head…" I was dizzy and had difficulty stand up, maybe I was going to pass out...and bleed to death; I couldn't see well...and it was then that I heard footsteps behind me. With an incredible effort I was able to look behind me...oh my god...the warrior was still alive, and moved slowly toward me. Although I couldn't see well I noticed that he limped and had a deep wound on his right arm; and now...what would he do? Perhaps I had seen too much to stay alive...but it didn't matter, I would be dead soon anyway. The warrior came even closer ... no! I shouldn't throw my life as well! Not after so many people sacrificed themselves to save me!

"Don't…don't…" it was so hard to speak, the pain was terrible; I continued to gather strength to say something, my head was spinning more and more and my eyes were too tired to see. The warrior stopped right in front of me, watching me, but it was difficult to return his gaze; I didn't want to die, not because I was afraid, but because now I had found the strength to fight, not to run away and I didn't want to lose this opportunity. Now my wish was one, just one...

" _Don't…leave…me…here"_ my last words, my last desperate and hopeful words. I felt my body fall to the ground, and everything went dark.


	5. Choice

_5\. Choice_

 _Noises, so many noises; and images that flowed fast: my town, my home, my room…and faces, many faces...the faces of my parents, distorted and with a horrible grin; Kate; Jeff; the bloodied face of Angela; and then...a black monster coming toward me with its mouth wide open, closer and closer. I tried to move and scream, but my body was immobilized and I had no voice; I was terrified, the black creature was getting closer...and with a bite it tore off my face._

I woke up with a start, breathing hard; another nightmare, just another nightmare. I took deep breaths and tried to get up; my head was spinning terribly and my eyes couldn't see clearly; what the hell was going on? My body was so heavy…slowly I got out from my…bed? With my eyes still clouded I tried to figure out what it was: instead of a bed it seemed one of those metal tables in the morgue… but why I was here? What the hell...I touched my face and I noticed two small tubes that entered into my nostrils; they weren't annoying, but I tried anyway to remove one and immediately I felt suffocated: I quickly realized that in this environment, so hot and humid, the air wasn't breathable for me and these tubes provided me oxygen; they were connected to a small metal box behind my neck that, to avoid trouble, I preferred not to try to remove. Gradually my eyes began to see clearly, so I looked around: the room where I was had walls full of wires and strange metal devices; there was nothing else except that table and a large wind...w-was it the Earth? No, really… **the planet I was looking** …a noise behind me startled me; it was the sound of an automatic door. I turned around and immediately my heart began to beat wildly and my breathing became labored, my eyes met those of a warrior without a mask; at that moment I remembered everything: camping, black creatures, escape, death...and _he_...and…oh fuck, I was alive... _I was alive!_ My God…I remained motionless as he approached and stopped right in front of me, watching me...like last time. Now, I could do anything: ask for explanations, say hello, screaming like a madwoman, even pass out again; but all those events had returned so suddenly to my memory that my stomach asked only one thing...I did just in time to get away from him and I vomited! How embarrassing! The worst impression that I could give, and as I tried to stop myself I was forced to wait until the end of retching. When my stomach gave me pause, I wiped my mouth as I could

"How do you feel?"

"If you really want to know that, I feel as if someone..." I stopped and looked the warrior; he had just spoken with my own language...it was amazing, and his voice...he repeated the question "oh, I'm fine, i-it's all ok" I watched him as he approached the table and put his hand on it, looking at me. It took me a few seconds to realize that I had to sit where he had shown me and so I did, without stopping to look at his face. He touched my right shoulder and a shiver ran down my spine, embarrassment? Fear? Discomfort? In that moment, however, I also remembered another detail: the black creature had hit my shoulder with its claws, but now I was completely healed

"It hurts?" he asked

"No…you healed me, right?" he nodded, and a doubt began to creep into my mind "You…y-you were on the Earth, right? You brought me here and…" he nodded again "oh my… _it's you…you…"_ I couldn't articulate the words properly; I was excited and I had so many questions for him, but the words came with much difficulty, and I couldn't stop looking at those amber eyes watching me patiently; Calm Elise, calm, take a deep breath and…

"You saved my life! A-are you ok? The black creature hurt you; there are still monsters on Earth? What happened in the cave? And…"

"Ooman" that one word made me shut up instantly, he continued "ask one thing at a time"

"Okay, you're right" so I began to think about what I wanted to say, "Well, first of all...thanks for saving my life"  
"you saved my life too, from the queen of Kainde Amedha; you gave me a chance to recover and fight "

"And your wounds?" he showed me his right arm; I could see a long (but not very visible) scar on the internal muscle. I stood staring at the sign: the best surgeon on our planet wouldn't be able to do a job so perfect; of course if their technology was so advanced to enable them to create laser guns then surely so was medicine. I was so lost in my thoughts that only later I realized I was touching his arm with fingers; I withdrew my hand immediately, embarrassed

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't want to be so intrusive..."

"Why you saved my life?" he asked suddenly, I didn't hesitate to reply

"I saw you fight; you didn't escape, not even once; simply you didn't have to die"

"I don't understand"

"I know" obviously he couldn't understand my feelings and how much I admired his courage and his determination; and then it was thanks to him that I found the strength to not run away anymore "and why you saved my life?"

"you asked, it was my duty to return the favor" in some sense it was true, I didn't ask him explicitly but in the end it was good that he understood in this way

"But you had already saved my life: in the forest, when the...queen was attacking me..."

"It wasn't intentional"

There was a brief moment of silence; I still felt uncomfortable in his presence...well, anyone would have been uncomfortable; I could just keep asking questions

"Therefore...Kainde Amedha, right? Can you tell me something about them? Why they were on my planet?" the warrior began to tell me everything, trying to find the most appropriate terms in my language; what he said left me speechless. He told me how accidentally some "puppies" of those monsters were able to break free and kill his companions (when he explained to me the process of fecundation of the creatures, made through the mouth, I was going to vomit again), and then how they hid on the ship and have damaged it to the point to make it fall, letting me know that what we had seen in the forest wasn't a fire; he also told of his attempt to blow up the cave, that the queen had chosen that place to lay the eggs and that she already had begun to do so; but it wasn't the worst part of the story...fortunately, in the end the cave was destroyed and all the monsters were killed, but he told me he saw two human bodies already fecundated and destined to die: I immediately thought to Kate and Michael; they were dead down there...I was confused; certainly, the incident of Kainde Amedha wasn't intentional but if it had not happened at this time everyone I knew would be alive, and at the same time I would have continued to live in fear, running away and without the opportunity to know the warrior in front of me; I couldn't change the past, but I asked myself: everything that happened to me was something bad...or good? And above all, what would happen now?

The automatic door opened again and a second warrior came into the room, speaking directly to the other; I didn't understand a word of their language, I could only hear their mandibles clicking with different intensities. At the end of the conversation the warrior who had saved me turned to me

"Follow me" and he walked toward the open door. I stood beside him and followed him along a series of passages inside the ship; the place looked like a labyrinth, the hallways were all the same; I felt really uncomfortable and I tried to stay close to him as possible

"Where are we going?" I tried to ask

"I'll take you in the presence of the Elder" he said without looking at me, I realized that perhaps he was referring to his superior. We arrived in front of a closed door, much bigger than the ones I had seen in the ship; the warrior stopped right there and didn't go over, and I waited with him. After several minutes of waiting we were still here and still in silence in front of the door

"Hem" I drew his attention "so...what happens now?"

"The Elder must decide what to do with you" he remained firm in his position

"...Can he also decide to kill me?"

"He can't"

"Ah...and why not?" fuck, I was too nervous; the warrior turned to me

"Many questions" I didn't know if I should interpret that statement as a rebuke or a simple observation, I just knew I was so nervous that I could not keep quiet; dammit, I fought against a creature fifteen meters high and now I couldn't stand the wait fifteen seconds! However, the warrior replied patiently "you killed a queen and you saved my life; I chose to bring you here to heal you and return a favor, it would be dishonorable prevent me from doing so; but the fact is that you should not be here, then the Elder must take a decision"

"Well, you could just...let me die; you were not forced to ..."

"I had to, and then I had no reason to let die a good fighter and _murderess of queens_ " I looked at him surprised; probably for all the warriors on this ship I was only a nuisance, including himself; but in that moment, in that situation, it seemed to me the best compliment that anyone could ever make me; I thought that Angela would be proud of me...At last the door opened in front of us and we entered into a large room full of monitors; It was to be the control room. Shit, there were five other warriors and all had their eyes fixed on me; I felt like a rat in a cage of cats. Among them I had no difficulty in recognizing the Elder, because actually he looked like the biggest and oldest of the group, and he himself spoke to me

"Ooman, listen" he had no problem speaking my language; he pointed to something on a metal surface and I was surprised (and a bit disgusted) when I saw the head of the queen that I had killed; the Elder continued "you have proven your valor in battle so you can take your trophy, we will report you on your planet, you have permission to choose the coordinates" after saying this he turned and walked over to a command post in the middle of room, probably waiting for my instructions. I was standing there without saying anything, the question was very simple: I **didn't want to go back** , there was nothing on Earth that had some attractiveness to me; no, I wanted to stay here, but I knew it would not be so easy; I didn't know exactly what to say, but I had to at least try…I would not have wasted my chance and finally I formulated my request

"I humbly ask to the Elder to stay on this ship, and not to bring me back to Earth" simple, short, concise...although, to be honest, my hands were shaking for the nervous; immediately the snap of the mandibles of some warriors made me realize that they weren't in agreement. The Elder said nothing, but stood staring at me and then I continued

"I killed a queen, you have seen that I can fight and I can still learn" I went over to the Elder and I looked at him straight into his eyes, trying to dominate my agitation; it was he who I had to convince "I beg you, give me a chance to learn, I will do my best...otherwise you could always cut my head off and hang it somewhere" I waited his reaction; _please, please, please…_ he stood looking at me a little before speaking

"a bold request, Ooman, and boldness is a precious gift for a hunter" he got up and walked over to me, he was really big "let's see if you're really capable of surviving to our rules" he took a knife from his belt and held it close to my arm, I was restless but I remained firm in my place; the Elder engraved a symbol on my right shoulder "you're coming with us, and Ate'yo will provide you what you need and will monitor your progress. Take your trophy and leave this room; consider yourself part of this clan, for the moment "any form of protest was immediately silenced by the Elder; I did what he had said, I took the Queen's head (it was heavy!) and I walked away from the room, followed only by the warrior who saved me. As the door closed behind me I wanted to shout for joy, **I did it**! **Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaah**! But before all...

"Ouch, my arm" I put the Queen's head on the ground and I looked at the wound on the right arm

"You must be mad, Ooman"

"Maybe you're right...Ate'yo" I looked at him and smiled, finally I knew his name

"Why you have that expression on your face?"

"Oh, it's nothing...Elise, my name is Elise"

He put a hand to his chest and bowed slightly with the head

"My respects Elise, murderess of queens, from now on it will be my duty to stay by your side and give you what you need" probably he wasn't very happy about that; I will try to change his mind

"Well, then" I put a hand on my chest and imitated his bow "nice to meet you, Ate'yo" our eyes met; if I could I would have hugged him.

Ate'yo led me inside my new room and handed me my bag, the only thing I had with me when I fainted, leaving me alone with my thoughts. The first thing I did was searching something useful in the side pockets of the bag: brush, toothbrush and toothpaste (thankfully!), my iPod and headphones, handkerchiefs, house keys and wallet. I turned on the iPod; I remembered that I had stored some photos

"oh, Angela..." I looked at a picture of her, and then another where we were all together "...I will not disappoint you guys, it's a promise" I turned off the iPod to save battery. It wouldn't be easy, but I was too happy to worry; I was euphoric, excited, _I was free_. A new life began for me.

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Therefore...did you enjoy the chapter? Can you help me with the errors? I just want to thank all the people who like my story and I hope to meet their expectations :) give me some suggestions if you want and let many fine reviews!


	6. New life

_6\. New life._

 _Eight months later, Yautja's planet..._

I dodged his attack rolling on one side and tried to counterattack wiggling my whip; Teylar was unimpressed, and used the blades on his arm to parry the blow, then grabbing the end of my whip and tearing away from my hands. I quickly pulled out my spear, just in time to deflect his umpteenth shot; I stepped back and prepared for a new offensive. They were now a couple of months that I was able to get so close to my goal, but still I had no idea how to overcome this mountain of muscles and claws in front of me; I remained in position, trying to work out a strategy

"too slow, Ooman" Teylar opened his mandibles and provoked me openly; even if this made me really pissed off I knew too well that it was just a way to make me lose the concentration. I decided to make an attempt, I squeezed the spear in my hand and ran straight toward him; I saw him prepare the counterattack and in that moment I made my move: I closed the extremities of the spear and threw myself on the ground, slipping right through his legs; I didn't mind to the scratches on my arms and I got up quickly, running in the direction of my goal

"It's mine! This time it's mine!" I stretched my arm, my hand outstretched and ready to grab the skull stuck in the spear in front of me. Just another small effort! But it was useless: something grabbed me violently to the right ankle, pulling me back and throwing myself badly on the ground; I covered my face with my hands and, after the impact, I quickly tried to get up, but Teylar attacked me and grabbing one of his knives pointed it at my throat. Game Over, fuck

"I keep repeating it every time and will repeat it again; never, _never_..."

"...turn your back to the enemy; I know, I know; it was worth a try"

Teylar put down his knife and let me get up; I snorted out of frustration, because I knew that once again I should have to put up with the reproaches of my master

"If you really want to become one of us, you'd better to concentrate more and stop acting so foolish, I seem to train..." an infant, I heard this a million times and probably he hadn't yet finished "whatever...this time it went better than the others" I was amazed, it was the first time that Teylar made me a compliment; as if he had read my thoughts he added "Don't get used to this, infant, and continue to train yourself instead of..." he approached me and with the hand touched a few strands of my hair, gathered in micro braids "...trying to look like us"

I just nodded without answering; It wasn't the first time that, for one reason or another, Teylar touched my hair or skin and I had started to think that for him it was more a way to examine me rather than to humble myself so those types of reproaches didn't offend me; and then I didn't do anything wrong if I tried to be like them. I picked up my weapons and with a bow I greeted my master; I was ready to go "home", the home of Ate'yo. During the return trip I thought about all the things that happened in recent months; It wasn't at all easy: even now I was learning the customs of Yautja and, with great effort, I tried to memorize their alphabet and the meaning of some gestures; I had to adapt to their lifestyle, eating the flesh of other aliens from somewhere (and I must say that some were really delicious) and searching alternative solutions to treat my personal hygiene and provide for my needs (for example, I found a way to realize a nail file and to charge my IPod); just I arrived I had been entrusted to Teylar, who immediately had subjected me to his awful trainings and more than once made me risk my neck; he was serious, rude and aggressive, but over time he began to tolerate my presence; many Yautja of the clan accepted me because I had killed a queen; I wasn't considered a total stranger but, even though I had already fought, I was treated like any other "unblooded" and I had to face my rite of passage; I was also human and I couldn't make certain decisions independently, only Ate'yo, as my guardian, could authorize me. Yet I was happy; not all Yautja laughed behind my back and I was able to "make friends" with some Yautja females and I liked to watch their puppies playing and training to become warriors; I also became religious, I admired their gods, and I thought that my friends deserved to rest in the "paradise of the hunters" rather than the kingdom of God; Yes, this life didn't displease me at all e I wanted to become an integral part of this world as soon as possible. There was only one small thing I wanted even more... I reached home, an iron construction of modest size, with one floor and the structure very similar to a fortress; I opened the door and entered; here there were no keys or locks, no one thought even minimally to steal to other Yautja; honor and respect, the key words I had learned very well. The first time I came here I was surprised at how their technology was mixed with their customs, sometimes similar to some tribes belonging to the Earth; but otherwise it didn't differ much from the houses that I used to know, except for the room of weapons and trophies; there were also a kind of kitchen where you could sit and eat the preys, a bedroom (Ate'yo's room, I slept in the trophy room on a bed just for me) and a bathroom with a huge bathtub. Actually I soon realized that the concept of home for Yautja was very different from the human: they returned here just to show their trophies, recover from serious injuries or reproduce. I was going to put down my weapons when a noise well known to me caught my attention; my heart was filled with joy and a breath of relief went out of my lips: _he_ _was back_. I immediately ran to the bedroom, calling him loudly

" _Ate'yo! Ate'yo!_ " The door opened automatically and I entered; he was there, intent to remove the pieces of armor; he didn't seem to hurt except a few scratches. I approached him smiling

"Welcome back"  
"I'm home" he turned to me and, as usual, gently touched my shoulder in greeting; I loved those few moments of physical contact between us. Ate'yo, my keeper, my guide. It was thanks to him that I had learned everything I knew about Yautja, although he couldn't train me because he was a "young hunter" and not "a warrior" as Teylar

"How was the hunting?" I asked; he turned around and proudly showed me the skull of a large creature, I stared at him admired

"And this is for you" he showed me a small bracelet made of bones and handed it to me; I took it enthusiastic and added to the other two that he already had given me; it had become a sort of habit, he came back and took me something. The things between us had changed a lot: I had saved his life and the Elder ordered him to take care of me, but in the early times he was really bothered by my presence, though he tried not to show it; he had to constantly keep an eye on me and make sure to get me out of trouble; over time, however, we began to find the right balance, he taught me what he knew and I helped him speak better in my language; we learned so much from each other and in the end we had developed a kind of friendship, telling stories of our lives or maybe confiding about our uncertainties (I more than him); there was only one detail that made things complicated...I was in love with him. Yes, I loved him like he was: I liked his way of thinking, speaking, his gestures... everything. And this was a big, very big problem; not just because we were two different species and to them my race was considered little more than a simple prey, but he probably would never reciprocated my feelings and above all...we were hunters, and when I started to get used to life on this planet he resumed to hunt, moving away from home and leaving me alone. Of course, the periods of absence weren't long, he had to watch me and then he never turned away for more than a week; but every time he went away I lived in fear that he wouldn't return and I prayed every night to see him again. And here he was, and I could look at him as he undressed the armor; his muscled chest, his big biceps, his eyes...he was simply...RRrrrrrrr!

"Elise, are you listening?"

"Eh?! W-what?!" Ate'yo approached me and put a finger on my forehead; I tried in every way to avoid looking at his body, but meet his gaze was even worse

"Nobody likes to waste one's breath; I asked you how your training proceeds"

"I'm getting better and better; Ate'yo..." I stared at him pleadingly "I want to take part in the rite of passage" he frowned; I had already made this request about three months ago but I wasn't ready yet; now that Teylar seemed to recognize some progress I didn't want to wait any longer and I had my reasons

"I admire your courage, but I think it's still too early; even if you've already experienced a real battle and your training is going well it doesn't mean you have learned all you need to be a hunter"

"I know, I am simply too impatient to wait" I knew that it wasn't something to fool around, I was risking my life; but I just couldn't fear death, I stopped being afraid and I just thought to the advantages of a possible victory: if I became huntress not only I would have earned the right to be a true member of the clan, but I had the opportunity to follow Ate'yo wherever he decided to go; it was stupid, it was foolish, but it was what I wanted terribly

"Keep training" he said "sooner or later you will have your chance"

"...Come and see, let me show you what I can do; you'll see with your own eyes if I'm ready or not"

the idea of him looking at me while I was fighting was exciting and worrying at the same time, I hoped strongly not make a fool of myself

"I don't understand your impatience...but I will come to watch you if that's what you want" I thanked him gratefully and left the room to put down my weapons. My mind was already starting to think of every possible strategy to beat Teylar; this time I was obliged to give my best. Think of something Elise, think...

 _The next day..._

I began seriously to think I had a very bad idea! Always the same situation: Teylar laughed at me as I tried desperately a solution to get that fucking skull on the fucking spear a few meters away from me; and now it was even worse, because Ate'yo watched my moves and judged every moment of the fight. Shit! I was in position, the spear in my hands. Think Elise! Teylar railed against me

"you are slow, Ooman! You're not thinking like a hunter!" his words made me pissed off, I grabbed the whip and tried to attack him but as usual Teylar easily dodged my shots

"Don't let the frustration consume you! Focus your goal!" but I was doing it! I had a strong desire to strangle him! I always tried to overcome all obstacles, I trained, I sweated blood to learn what I knew and to prove myself; but it wasn't enough, and I haven't won a single fight; perhaps I was wrong, maybe I will remain always an "unblooded". I pushed those thoughts right away, anger and desperation were taking precedence over my lucidity; I had to stay calm, I had to think about my goal! And then a question arose spontaneously in my mind: what was my goal?

Teylar took advantage of my distraction running to me and hitting me in face with a resounding slap; I was thrown to the ground, the pain was terrible; he tried to grab me by the neck but I rolled away just in time and got up wobbly; I felt the taste of blood on my lips

"Weak, you're just a piece of meat that walks, waiting to be devoured"

I knew what I had to do ten seconds after his insult: fuck the skull, fuck the challenge; I was a huntress, and I had to defeat the enemy in front of me before picking up my trophy; I knew that for me it was impossible to overcome the force of a Yautja, but honestly I had a strong desire to kick him in the ass; and so I tried again with the same tactic that I used today: I ran towards Teylar and at the last minute I left the spear and tried to slip between his legs, but I knew that he would have predicted my move; the Yautja grabbed my foot and with all his strength lifted me up upside down, I pretended to punch him with my left hand but he stopped the attack grabbing my wrist and it was painful. He looked me with his usual look disappointed

"evidently I have to change my mind about your progress "

"look again, _honey_ " with the right hand still free I grabbed a knife from my belt and threatened to stab him in his groin; it wasn't a total victory, but surely being stabbed in that part wasn't pleasant. Teylar looked me straight in the eyes, I couldn't understand what he was thinking...suddenly he left my foot and I fell to the ground; Asshole! I got up in pain, and I saw that my master and Ate'yo were discussing; even if I was learning their language I couldn't understand a single word, but it had to be an unpleasant conversation because their mandibles clicked frantically. In the end my master walked away after giving me a last look; Ate'yo came near me

"Let's go home" and nothing more; shit, what happened?

 _Home..._

"ouch, ouch, ouch" I sat in the kitchen and touched my face: my lower lip was split and my cheek swollen and sore, I should not be a pretty sight; Ate'yo handed me a sort of bag with ice water  
"Thank you" I looked at him as he sat down next to me and staring at me with his beautiful amber eyes  
"Very good, for a Ooman"

"thanks Ate'yo, it means a lot to me" I smiled, but inside I was terribly frustrated and not only for the fight: he was here, so close to me, and I couldn't hug him, touch him, kiss him...I really wanted to become a huntress, part of a new "family" and being able to stay close to him, but when we were alone and so close sometimes I wanted more...but I couldn't have it

"Elise" the sudden touch of his hand on my shoulder startled me "today you have confirmed that your race is worthy to face us and that you have the strength to become a true huntress; you should be proud of yourself and then...what troubles you? Your expression is different"  
"Perhaps because Teylar has swollen my cheek like a balloon" I chuckled amused but he remained serious  
"I taught you a lot about our culture but at the same time I learned a lot from you, and now I know that your facial structure is developed to show a wider range of emotions than my species; but I can't understand why you're worried if you don't tell me"  
"Ate'yo, really there is nothing wrong, I'm just a little tired"

"Your eyes don't lie me"

"My eyes? But..."

"Elise!" his tone became hard, but he calmed down soon after "I had the responsibility to guide you for a long time, but now more than that you can consider me...an ally; in your language I think the word is... _friend_ " I couldn't believe what I just heard, I knew that he was used to my presence and that there was a certain confidence between us, but this...

"...I would just be like you" I said those words without realizing it  
"And you will become one of us; consider it an honor, the huntress are uncommon in our species"  
"No...I mean...I wouldn't be human..." he looked me perplexed "It doesn't matter if I went away from the Earth, I am a human being and..." and these damned feelings...

"You're fine just as you are" those words surprised me "it doesn't matter what race you are if you demonstrate your value; you have already proven this and..." he paused before adding "...and you will prove it again taking part with me in your first official hunting"

I stared at him in disbelief; this time I couldn't just stop myself: I jumped on him and hugged him, throwing my arms around his neck...oh-god-what-the fuck-I-had-done. The contact lasted just a few seconds, I drew back immediately

"Elise..."

"S-sorry...good night!" and without looking back I went straight to sleep; I absolutely couldn't let him see my face as red as a tomato.

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Hiiiiiii! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I have only one question: is the text setting good? maybe some parts are written too close and give eye discomfort. As usual I'm sorry for any mistakes and if you want let me a review to tell me that you like the story or not. A special thanks to **Cityhunterluv** , who comments all my chapters and provides good support to my self-esteem! :) and thank you, thank you, thank you and thank you for reading!


	7. Wrong feelings

_7\. Wrong feelings_

I kept walking nervously back and forth across the room, desperately trying to calm myself. It had passed just over an hour after our departure and excitement had slowly given way to the fear of failure. I recalled the events that occurred during the morning: I woke up very early, happy and eager to take up arms and stabbing the spear in my first prey; well, the second prey, the first was the queen of Kainde Amedha; now the sight of blood and guts could no longer impress me, not after Ate'yo had helped me clean up the skull of the queen herself and over again showed me how to clean perfectly each trophy (and too many times I had nausea for this). I wore my new armor (I had the laser gun and the device for invisibility; I also had a mask, but unlike the other Yautja this released oxygen) and along with Ate'yo I was directed to the ship that would led me and others unblooded on the planet designated for our rite of passage. Once we arrived at the ship, it started the tragedy: Teylar was there waiting for us and I soon discovered that he would be the supervisor of the ceremony; in case of victory he would personally awarded the prize to the winners and would recognize them as part of the clan; I didn't like at all the idea of traveling with him and as expected more than once he denigrated me with epithets very unpleasant. With him there was his current mate, Alyara, who had come to greet him before departure with his two children, still too young to start training and still in need of the protection of the father. Since I was here, Teylar had had two other mates and at least five other children; for female Yautja it was an honor to be chosen from a warrior of his level but honestly I wondered as they did even just to bear him! Fortunately I had the chance to exchange a few words with her; she was wise, she treated me with respect, and as many of the female Yautja was in charge of political affairs in addition to her family

"My respects Alyara, it's been a little while since our last meeting"

"My greetings Elise and I wish you to come back safe and sound and ready to get into our clan"

"Thanks...can I hold him for a minute?" I looked at the small Yautja in her arms; I loved children, on Earth I liked often look in the maternity ward; but their babies were even more adorable, with those little mandibles and their eyes awake and attentive. My request would probably be unusual for her, but she decided to please me; I took the child in my arms and I enjoyed tickling him, how cute!

"I still don't understand some of your behaviors" said Alyara

"On Earth we don't train our children, we take care of them and protect them always, even when they are older; I imagine that for you this is strange" I handed back her baby

"One day we will talk about the customs of your people"

"If she will survive" Teylar looked at me impatiently, and made me understand that it was time to go; I didn't reply to his latest provocation, I reached Ate'yo and went up on the ship. We were six unblooded in total, but I didn't know any of them. Unfortunately I had another bad news: I knew Ate'yo couldn't help me fight but at least I was hoping to have him close during the battle, if I was winning I could show him my skills, if I lost...well, it was no longer my problem; and instead Teylar forbade him to follow me, ordering him to remain on the ship and wait for my eventual return, and then referring everything to the Elders of our clan. I retreated into the room that I was allocated and then here I am, ready to bet everything: _no fear, no hesitation, just fight_ ; keep walking didn't help minimally to stay calm so I decided to sit down and take my IPod, I wanted to look at the pictures of my friends before the battle, and while I was watching I sang softly to relax the mind

" _I'm growing so distant, nothings make sense to me anymore, I'm learning to resist becoming more than you ever were. Can't explain what's come over me; can't explain why it's so hard for me, so hard to see your s…"_

"I remember this…song" I didn't realize that Ate'yo had entered the room; I instinctively covered my mouth with the hand. He said nothing, approached me and pointed to my IPod

"I don't understand why humans still remember those who have died"

"Some memories are unforgettable; friends especially"

"I still don't understand. Rather, are you ready?"

"yes; I'm just trying not to overload the mind before the fight...do you want to see?" I had never shown him any photos because I thought he wasn't interested, he had only heard the songs I had on the iPod; I let him sit next to me and began to scroll through the images "Angela; you found and burnt her body in the forest along with your companion" yes, in the end I couldn't give her the funeral she deserved but there had been no alternative; it was better for her parents believe her disappearance rather killed by a fucking alien "oh, here we are at Jeff's house, this guy, and Michael was preparing grilled meat; this is Kate and ... " I didn't know if he was interested in what I was saying or not, but I was happy to have him close and I felt slightly excited; he remained silent as usual to watch, always so close and yet so far...

"What is it?" he pointed to a photo, interrupting my thoughts: a close-up of Kate and Michael kissing, it was her birthday

"Oh...you mean the kiss; it's a demonstration of affection for someone you care very much"

"Affection...so friends kiss?" I could lie to him but I didn't; I couldn't do it, not to him

"Oh no, no; you have to be more than a friend to kiss a person, like...a mate"

"And it has some function in the reproductive process?"

"err…yes and no, it's complicated..." those questions, made by him, made me uncomfortable and at the same time made me come a mad desire to jump on him and let him know personally what was a kiss; it was really a psychological torture. Fortunately that embarrassing discussion was interrupted by a slight shake of the ship, making me realize that we were about to land; Ate'yo stood up

"Get your equipment and meet me in the control room" I looked at him as he walked toward the door, he paused for a moment "and anyway, I have to say that the way you make your vocal cords vibrate is nice, we cannot make sounds of that kind" and left the room. He liked the way I sang...I went red with embarrassment.

We landed on the surface of a planet that I didn't know; just we stepped out we found ourselves in a dense vegetation: the Yautja had a predilection for these wild environments and the hot and humid climate, very similar to that of their planet; I and other unblooded put on our masks, so I turned off the machine for oxygen behind my neck. We waited Teylar grant us permission to go, and as I waited I took a deep breath and I focused the goal in my mind: victory, at all costs; I turned to Ate'yo who returned my gaze and that gesture was worth more than thousand words. Teylar gave official start to hunting; I turned to look at that tangle of trees, branches and bushes; the ship would return only after an unblooded had killed his first prey, there was no chance of escape, or life or death. I activated the invisibility and I entered in the dense vegetation; come on Elise, you can do it...

 _After a while..._

I cannot take it anymore! Probably I was wandering around for hours and hadn't found even a prey worthy of the name, only little overgrown lizards. I knew that the hunt could last for days, but obviously my patience wasn't enough for this. Ok, change of tactic, or I could seriously become mad with frustration; I did something that very probably a Yautja never would have done: I turned off the invisibility and searched a clearing large enough, taking off the mask and reactivating the oxygen inside the small tubes in my nostrils; I waited a few minutes, no one in sight; I brought my hands to my mouth and

" **Hey** **is anyone here?! I don't want to die of boredom!** " I expected an answer...no? Oh great! At this point I'd rather...a growl behind me made me turn quickly: from the bushes came a sort of large dog with long horns on his head and on his back, staring at me menacingly. Ok, enough joking; I slowly grabbed my whip, ready to dodge its charge. The beast stared at me, and then charged with a savage snarl toward me; it was fast, I had to aim at the legs; I dodged its attack rolling to one side and flailed the whip, hitting the dog on its hind legs. Ok I must admit, Teylar was a bastard but I had learned well from him. The creature stopped, roaring in pain, turning back to me and ready for a new charge; when it launched the attack I used the whip again, which wrapped itself around one of its legs; I tried to stop him pulling strongly, very bad idea: the dog pulled with such force that I fell to the ground, I saw it run fast to pounce on me; I didn't use the laser gun, I still wasn't in life threatening, so I grabbed one of my knives and threw it against the animal to divert its course and get up, grabbing my spear. There was a brief standoff, the dog growled and gnashed his teeth but now seemed reluctant to attack, my knife had pierced its right foreleg; my whip was still twisted to its hind leg, I could exploit it to my advantage...and yet it all seemed too easy. The dog charged again, this time I dodged its attack at the last minute, avoiding its long horns by a hair's breadth; with the right timing I threw the spear so as to lock the whip on the ground, interrupting the run of the animal; the creature tried to break free but I was immediately on him, jumping on its back and sinking a second knife in the flesh; the beast stopped struggling and slumped to the ground, it no longer had the strength to fight. I was ready to strike the final blow, the knife raised to the height of the head; I took aim and...Wait...from this position I could see its belly, and I hadn't caused those wounds...I realized in a few seconds I had just made a big mistake: the creature was already injured before our fight, but I hadn't been able to notice it...shit! And now? Perhaps the dog hadn't chance even if it was healthy, but I'd still attached when it wasn't in full force to fight...I had to decide what to do, and quickly; perhaps one Yautja would leave it there to die without taking the skull...damn human feelings! I took off from the creature and immediately grabbed my med kit: it wasn't right... but damn, I continued to feel guilty! I picked up a syringe and a couple of other things that could be useful; the beast growled when it saw those tools

"Shhh, everything is alright; forgive me, I will heal you quickly" I patted him gently on the head; the beast growled but didn't move, too weak. I did the best I could: I used the anesthetic, I recovered the knife and took the whip from its paw, I closed its wounds; but I couldn't stop thinking that I was wrong, a hunter shouldn't feel these emotions, shouldn't have these feelings...pity, remorse, affection, _love_...Ate'yo...

Once finished, I walked away quickly while the dog got up; I was on guard to prevent a possible attack; the creature stared at me

"Go away, I have no more time to lose" I stepped back slowly, I had to recover my spear and whip; nothing, that thing didn't seem to want to go away "go, go!" I took a few menacing steps forward and finally the dog seemed to understand. I turned and retrieved the rest of my weapons; a sudden noise made me turn abruptly, too late; the dog jumped on me and threw me to the ground, instinctively I grabbed two of its horns to push it away; I stared at it threateningly, hoping to instill fear...but its long tongue drooled all over my face

"Ew! That sucks! No! Come on...stop it!" It was licking my face! Oh perfect, from bad to worse! I labored terribly to get up and clean myself from all that disgusting drool; I stared at the animal which in turn was sitting and looking at me "...no one was ever kind to you, right?" hesitantly I caressed its head again; I tried to move away but it kept following me; and now...what the fuck could I do?

 _Sometime later..._

"I sincerely hope that your prey is worthy of this name, we arrived just a few hours ago"

"T-Teylar? I had sent a signal to Ate'yo!" I watched him astonished as he took off the mask

"I have the task of supervising over you, suckling, he doesn't have the right to..." he fell silent immediately when he saw the dog behind me; he growled and pulled out a knife

"No no no! Wait, wait!" The dog growled in turn but I silenced him by raising a hand "hey you sit and shut up!" and the animal obeyed me; that creature was smarter than I thought. Teylar looked at me astonished, and then looked again the beast behind me; his expression became annoyed "You brought a bloodhound to hunt; I didn't even know you had trained one!" he seemed really angry, he began to speak in his own language but I didn't really want to know what he was saying; unfortunately there was only one way to calm him down

"Hey, hey! Close those mandibles and listen to me!" I had to tell him everything; my shame was complete, if there was Ate'yo it would have been easier; already I imagined the humiliation that I would have to suffer, and I wondered if I still had the opportunity to continue my hunt. He remained silent to listen to me, at the end of the story there was total silence

"...and then?" I tried to ask "I violated any rule of the honor code? I didn't know that the animal was injured...I didn't know if I had to take my trophy or..." the sound of Teylar's mandibles interrupted me, they were clicking frantically and his breathing seemed irregular; when I understood what he was doing I opened my mouth in surprise: he was laughing, that bastard was laughing at me and I couldn't blame him; someone please kill me now!

"Teylar... _please"_ I begged him "It's a disaster! A catastrophe! Please tell me that I didn't make a mess!" I was really scared; I couldn't bear the thought of having failed only because I allowed my humanity to prevail, I…

"A disaster? It takes months to train a bloodhound; you did that in a few hours and call this a disaster? "

"...what?" my mind took a moment to realize the news

"Of course, the hounds are very easy to kill, we use them against our children for workouts, but training one is..." he paused; he seemed really in disbelief but I didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing

"Let me understand well" I tried to put in order the ideas "I practically fought a domestic pet...but it may be a great hunting companion, and I managed to train it in record time: I should be proud or hang my head in shame?"

"this depends on you" he came closer and grabbed me under my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes "your race never ceases to amaze me: your brain makes choices that we could even consider foolish; your constitution is weak, you are a failure both in body and mind and yet..." maybe it was just my impression, but at that moment I thought he was smiling "... I think it's fascinating" he wasn't acting as usual, I couldn't understand his way of doing; and the space between us had never been so little; he was close, too close…

A distant growl caught our attention, followed by another even stronger; it wasn't a good sign. Teylar turned away from me and looked at the surrounding environment, we were silent until he roared in anger; his reaction was so sudden that surprised me

"What?" I instinctively put my hand to spear

"The hound you've submitted...obviously belonged to someone else" he turned to me "be prepared, it will not be easy, someone has invaded our hunting ground".

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And here is the seventh chapter! Did you enjoy? What do you think? follow my story and make me a nice review, pleeeeeease! The song is "Hard to see" by Five Finger Death Punch


	8. Hunt

_This chapter was quite difficult to write, I hope I didn't make too many mistakes. Leave me a review and hope you like it!_

* * *

 _8\. Hunt_

Teylar ran with all his might in the direction of the cries that continued to reverberate in the forest and were becoming stronger; I tried to keep up with him as I could even if it wasn't easy: never underestimate the agility of a Yautja, even if they were big they could be just as fast; the hound kept running by my side, adjusting its speed to mine; I had already realized it would no longer go away. Another cry, this time very, very close; I looked around as I ran to try to understand where it came from, but in that vegetation so thick the sound dispersed too quickly to trace a precise path. I was so intent on paying attention to those rumors that I didn't notice that Teylar had stopped and I avoided crashing into his back for a few centimeters; I went immediately to his side, and what I saw left me very surprised: in front of us there were another hunter, and although he was of the same race I understood immediately that he wasn't of our clan; his constitution was even bigger than that of Yautja I was used to seeing and his skin was similar to that of a reptile. Teylar issued a series of low growls and started clicking his mandibles; I didn't understand what he was saying but I realized that probably was intimating him to get out of our territory; in response, the other warrior took off his mask and growled at him openly, evidently attempts at dialogue were finished

"Bad blood...stay back Ooman, this battle is mine" Teylar pulled out his spear

"But..."

"Don't discuss, you can't even hope to beat them, go back to the ship if you survive and..." he stopped when the Bad blood began to advance menacingly, Teylar did the same

"...and the rite of passage?" I was at his side, ready to pull out the spear; he gave me an angry look

"Forget it; this is a hunt out of your reach. Go away!" those words made me angry; both warriors prepared themselves for the charge but I stayed where I was; I could do something, I wanted to do something!

"Teylar let me..."

" **Elise** **, get out**!" he pushed me away by force, just a second before becoming involved in the charge of Bad blood; as I fell to the ground I could see Teylar who pounced on him with all his strength; it was a show terrifying and exceptional at the same time, watching those two big beasts that clashed wildly and hurt each other.

I quickly got up, ready to give him a hand, but a series of howls put me in alarm: four hounds ran toward me and began to surround me to block any way to escape; the dog at my side began to growl against his own companions; this time I couldn't have compassion for them. I was forced to activate the laser gun and prepared to shoot; a deep breath...I took aim...and hit the first hound that tried to jump on me, killing him. I fled into the forest, preventing them to surround myself again; I could hear their barking behind me and prepared a second shot; at the right time I slowed down on purpose and I shot to my right, killing another one. As I ran, I heard more screams; I had to think fast: it was useless to go back, Teylar could take care of himself, but probably my companions were fighting against an unknown number of Bad blood and even fight in team wasn't a tactic preferred by Yautja the best thing to do was to find them and give them a hand. A hound emerged suddenly on the left side, I couldn't take aim and I missed it miserably; I took the whip and hit it in the legs, interrupting its run and throwing it to the ground; I jumped on the animal and took the knife, this time I had no remorse in cutting its throat. I was ready to start running again, but the last hound assaulted me, unbalancing and throwing me to the ground; it pierced its teeth into my arm and the pain was terrible; I stabbed it a couple of times but the beast didn't want to let go, and then the dog I had saved railed against its companion, biting its throat. I was able to free myself from its grip and rolled to one side to get away; with the knife still in my hand I was on guard and ready to attack, but the enemy slowly stopped struggling and slumped to the ground, suffocating in his own blood. The dog left the creature's neck and looked at me, yelping and approaching me; I put the knife in my belt, and with my good arm I gently stroked its head

"nice work...hmmm, let's see... _Talion_ " I continued to pet it "from now on you belong to me" more screams attracted my attention, I had no time to rest; I looked at my arm, it was bleeding but it was nothing serious; quickly I grabbed my med kit and prepared to suffer: there was no time to use the anesthetic but unfortunately the medicines of Yautja weren't painless; slowly I slipped the syringe in my arm; when the liquid came into my veins I screamed in pain, but the blood stopped flowing instantly; I waited patiently for the few but long seconds of agony, then I got up as quickly as possible. I used the device on my arm to contact other unblooded, and in that moment I realized that something was disturbing our frequencies; I couldn't neither trace my companions nor try to warn our ship; shit. I looked around, assuming a possible direction to take when Talion began to growl

"...oh, a great hunting companion...go puppy, go!" I urged it with a pat on the back and the dog started running towards a very specific way. As we ran the cries became closer, maybe I had found someone; I came out from the trees without much thought...in time to see another Bad blood that cut cleanly through the head of one of my companions and shouting in victory. Oh shit! Materially I hadn't time to do anything: the Yautja saw me and instantly began to growl at me, dropping the head of my companion; my bloodhound came forward, but I stopped it, I needed time to develop a strategy; I pulled out the spear and opened both ends, moving slowly in a circle and looking for any weaknesses; fuck, if that thing could even just to touch me…I was dead. He growled menacingly, I hissed in response, and I prepared myself to his charge; the Yautja ran straight at me, I dodged his attack and tried a lunge with the spear at his side, but he intercepted my move and grabbed the end of my weapon, tearing it from my hands; he tried to grab me, but I backed off enough to escape; there was little to do, the difference in physical strength between us was insurmountable, I couldn't compete in a clash close; I activated the laser gun and took aim, starting to shoot in bursts; fuck, he was too fast

"Talion grab him!" with a savage growl the hound charged at him and bit his leg; finally the Bad blood was forced to stop and now was in my shooting line _; bye bye baby_. Unfortunately, things never go as you expect: the Yautja hit with a violent punch Talion's head and threw it away from him, dodging just in time my shot. I inveighed with rage and began to run sideways to try a new series of gunshots, but the Bad blood was more fast and fired first with his gun; I threw myself on the ground to dodge the blow, but I wasn't fast enough to get up; he attacked me at an impressive speed and before I could react he grabbed my gun and lifted me from the ground, throwing me hard against a tree; the impact was terrible, I couldn't breathe and I felt a sharp pain in the back, to make matters worse my weapon had become unusable. I stood on the ground, the air that couldn't get into the lungs while the fucking bastard was coming to me; I tried again to get up but I knew that I wouldn't have time, I could only watch the Yautja while he was taking from the right arm of his armor a long blade ready to cut off my head. I wasn't afraid, I knew from the beginning the consequences of my decisions, only I had hoped not to die so soon, they were still so many things I wanted to do...The Yautja pulled me by the hair and forced me to show my neck, the blade was already up to my throat; breathing deeply I prepared to receive the final blow...

" **TAKE YOUR LURID HANDS OF HER**!"

I turned my head just in time to see a Yautja rail against the Bad blood with all his weight; the two fell to the ground and started hitting wildly. I got up and walked away from the clash, thanking the gods to be alive; fuck, my back ached terribly; I looked in the direction of Talion and saw with relief that it was still alive. Well, now at last I could breathe properly; and I had a strong desire to kick some ass, but who...

" _Oh shit_... **Ate'yo!** " I cried in a shrill voice, my heart began to beat wildly; Ate'yo fought with ferocity, growling and hitting the enemy repeatedly; I never saw him fighting, and he was... extraordinary, despite the other Yautja was bigger than him. But in that moment I was scared... scared and angry, because he could also be worthy of such an opponent, but the thought that he could get hurt or killed awoke in me a killer instinct that I hadn't felt for a long time; I took a knife from the belt, I called my hound, and waited for the right time. The Bad blood threw Ate'yo to the ground and in that moment I attacked: I ordered Talion to charge and followed it shortly after; my faithful companion bit again the leg of my enemy, unbalancing him to one side; literally I jumped on him and stabbed him in his right side; I didn't give him time to recover, being able to surround his neck with my left arm and ready to stab him again, this time trying to cut his throat. The Bad blood grabbed my wrist in a grip of steel; my wrist...my...!

 _*crack*_

I screamed in pain and I was forced to leave his neck; I touched the wound convulsively and couldn't stop the tears, preventing me from seeing clearly; I could only understand that Ate'yo was again fighting against the enemy with Talion. I had to stop the pain; quickly I grabbed the syringe of anesthetic and without thinking twice emptied its entire contents in the arm; come on, please do your job! I wiped my tears and retrieved the knife, inserting it in the belt; now things got more complicated with only one arm, but I had no intention of giving up. I turned in the direction of the battle; it was no longer only a rite of passage, now had become a personal matter: the bastard had killed one of my companions and right now was hurting the person I loved. I searched my spear around there and when I found it I squeezed it in my hand, took aim and threw it against the Bad blood, wounding him to the arm; the Yautja turned furious at me, Ate'yo took advantage of his distraction and pushed him to the ground

"Ate'yo, stop! This son of a bitch is _mine_! "

"What?!" he looked at me stunned, and he had every reason

"You got it right; this is my hunting, my rite! Stay back!" my eyes met his...and he stepped aside; I was relieved, at least for the moment he wouldn't have to fight.

The Bad blood stood up and turned to face me, I hissed at him and made it clear that I was his opponent. We started to walk slowly in a circle, studying each other: I saw him limping visibly, Talion had practically removed half of his calf and he had therefore lost the advantage of speed; the problem remained the gun, I had to attempt attacks close together and try to make him fall; again I took the knife, the only weapon that could be of any use at this time. Before the Yautja could start shooting I charged straight against him, dodging his punch at the last second and sticking the knife into his side, the same side that I had already wounded; I continued to alternate short attacks and strategic retreats to tire him physically and mentally, as well as to avoid being hit by his deadly fists; his claws scratched my right arm, but the anesthetic was so strong that I felt nothing and continued to attack wildly.

An unnatural euphoria came over me, that was the feeling during the hunt...and it was amazing; I wanted to live this life with my whole being, free from rules that imprisoned my world, I was the hunter and not the prey...and I wanted to stay close to Ate'yo, no matter nor how or in what way; I loved him, and it was wrong...but I was ready to die for him.

The Bad blood extracted again the blade, and the noise of our weapons clashing between them was music to my ears; my arms were full of cuts, but the adrenaline enabled me to endure the pain; and then it came the right opportunity: I penetrated his defenses and slipped to the ground, sticking the knife in his right inner thigh; I saw him drop to his knees; I quickly pulled out my second knife and arrived in front of him, raising his head and forcing him to look into my eyes, while I aimed the blade at his throat. I was told that when you become a Bad blood something in your way of thinking changed inexorably and could no longer go on as before; I understood what it meant when I met his gaze, two eyes staring at me crazy and refused what for the other Yautja was considered an honorable death; for a moment, just for a moment, my human feelings took over and I felt pity for him, every human on Earth would have refused to die in this way, even screaming and begging for mercy; perhaps Yautja sensed my emotions because he growled with anger, instigating me to end it. I stared at him for a moment...and then sank the knife into his throat.


	9. Discovery

_9\. Discovery_

The blood spurted everywhere, on my arms, on my face, but I continued to sink the knife into the throat of the Bad blood until I was absolutely sure of his death, only then I pulled out the knife from his flesh; the body, lifeless, spilled to the ground; I looked at the sky and let out a scream of victory, my muscles relaxed and I fell down like a dead weight on the grass, now exhausted. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, as the adrenaline decreased I was starting to feel the pain of my wounds, my arms were burning for the cuts, my back was even worse and only thanks to the anesthetic that still circulated in my blood I wasn't screaming in pain for the broken wrist, not to mention the bite of the hound; I wasn't really in my best shape, I was tired but I could already consider myself pretty lucky to be alive. When I opened my eyes Ate'yo was on his knees next to me and stared at me blankly; those eyes...I loved those eyes

"Hi..." I said smiling

"I believe I have already said several times but..." he was so close that I blushed instantly, he whispered in my ear "...you must be mad, Ooman"

"You said it" yes, I was crazy...for him

"Just out of curiosity, I'd like some explanation on that hound who can't wait to devour me" he pointed to a direction; I turned my head and saw that Talion paced back and forth and growled to Ate'yo but without attack him; perhaps it had realized that he wasn't an enemy but it was still concerned about my safety

"I called it Talion...can we keep it? Pleeeeeeease"

"And when you've trained a bloodhound?"

"A couple of hours ago?" I smiled amused

"...what kind of Ooman are you?" he looked at me puzzled, I guffawed at those words. I sat on the ground, my head was spinning; he took my right arm and looked at the broken wrist

"It shouldn't be a problem heal it, but your bone structure is too different from mine and I don't want to risk making some permanent damage; we return to the ship and come back home, surely someone else will take care of you"

"We can't; the others unblooded could be in trouble; we have to go find them"

"You've done enough, you're not in the mood to fight again; I carry you back and then I'm going to look for them"

"No, it isn't enough...I want to pass the rite of passage, I failed"

"Why do you think so?"

"Ate'yo, thank you for saving my life, really, but if you hadn't intervened I would be dead; you have weakened the Bad blood and just for this I was able to kill him"

"Elders will decide what was right and what wasn't when I will refer them what happened"

"But…they could accuse you of interfering; you didn't have to save me, you had to be on the ship... why you helped me and why you didn't remain there?" my questions seemed almost allegations, but I was just worried about the consequences of his actions; if he had deliberately ignored the orders I didn't dare to imagine what could happen; I saw him hesitate for a moment before answering

"It was revealed an anomaly that has begun to disturb our sensors; I knew immediately that something was wrong and I went out to look for the origin of the disturbance; I found you by sheer luck and, yes, I shouldn't interfere but no unblooded can even hope to beat a bad blood; It was an emergency situation, so there shouldn't be too many repercussions" I looked at him as he got up from the ground "and now we return to the ship, and I don't want to hear discussions about this" Ate'yo approached the body of Bad blood and extracting a knife cut off his head, a good trophy; as he put the head in a bag I said

"If you hope that I will not come with you you're wrong; I have no intention to go back empty-handed, especially now that I'm starting to fight seriously" I saw him stand in front of me and look at me with altered expression; I returned his gaze, I wouldn't have succumbed so easily

"Ooman, this is the last warning; I let you get back to the ship with your legs, don't force me to take drastic measures"

"Ha! As if your words could...aaaaaaaah!" Ate'yo lifted me off the ground and put me on his shoulder, blocking my waist with his arm and starting to walk towards the ship; among all the things he could do this was the last I expected! I tried immediately to free myself, he was unimpressed and held me even tighter; even if the contact with him was extremely pleasant at the same time it was something very humiliating! I tried in every way to escape, with my good arm I started to give him some punches on the back

"Put me down, put me down! Or I swear that I order Talion to bite your ass!"

"Oh really?" the slap came so fast and unexpected: he had spanked me! I tried to turn around to look at him, I was shocked; when he turned to stare at me...he smiled, my heart skipped a bit "stop fussing or I'll hit you even harder, and don't you dare ever again to threaten me, understand?" I didn't answer, but I stopped moving; I looked Talion who followed us a few meters away and I felt exactly in the same way: a dog that obeyed his master. After some time, I couldn't say how much, our march continued in silence, but I couldn't stop staring at him; I definitely lost my head for him ...how much longer I would have been able to control these feelings? Heck, I was a huntress, stay calm Elise, stay calm...A sudden signal from the device on my arm caught my attention, Ate'yo finally decided to put me on the ground and to help me to see what it was

"It's a signal from Teylar, he is returning to the ship" he stared at me a moment "and so we have the order to return, I guess now you have a reason to walk alone"

"What a shame, you know I was getting used to admire the view" I said ironically

"If you want I can do it again"

"Ah-ah-ah, very funny" but I couldn't suppress a smile. During the rest of the trip the anesthetic began to lose its effect and the wrist began to ache, but I didn't want to give the impression of being so sensitive and I resisted as I could. A sudden noise made us turn abruptly, Ate'yo pulled his spear and remained in guard, and Talion began to growl

"Just stay behind me" but there was no need to fight, because Teylar came out of the vegetation along with another Yautja: he was wounded and covered in blood, but he tried not to show signs of weakness, unlike his companion who was advancing with difficulty, he too was seriously injured. We approached him, and I felt growing in me the urge to help him (stupid human feelings), but I held back because I already knew how he would react; Teylar stared at me just a second before turning to others

"We return to the ship and take care of our wounds, we will discuss later of what happened"

"And...the others?" I dared to ask; he looked at me, I quickly realized: we were the only ones left; I prayed for the souls of my fallen companions. Just returned to the ship (thanks to Ate'yo I was able to get permission to bring Talion with me), Teylar and the other unblooded retreated to their rooms; I went with Ate'yo in what could be called the infirmary and I sat down on one of the metal tables; I washed away the blood and he took care of my wrist, but unfortunately he could do no more than inject more anesthetic and bandage it well to avoid any further damage; then he picked up some sort of disinfectant and began to rub it on my wounds... and fuck, it burned!

"Ate'yo thanks, but I can also do alone" he didn't answer, he continued to rub the liquid on my arms and little by little cuts and bruises disappeared visibly; I called his name to get his attention, when our eyes met he seemed very surprised

"Is nothing short of amazing" I looked at him with questioning eyes; he touched my arm with his fingers and stroked it gently, I blushed "really, I never realized how fragile your body was"

"Oh thanks! Also you now? Teylar reminds me every day!"

"It wasn't an insult, it is a fact that the human body is weaker than ours…but I didn't expect so much; I never had a chance to verify it" it was true, he never had a reason to touch me and look at my body except on the shoulders to greet or congratulate me, but now that my arm was in his hand it had to be a different sensation

"let me see your back" he said; I turned and moved the hair from the back "definitely you don't have nothing broken, but you have a large bruise covering the entire lower back and one side of the spine" he touched some points to be sure of my condition, I felt a sharp pain when he pulled out something near the left side: a piece of wood, nothing serious. He continued to touch my back, and even if it hurt, feel his hands on me was pure pleasure

"You killed a bad blood with a body like that, I've never fought a human male, but if his constitution is more robust than the women you were really skillful"

"Thanks, but can you stop to remind me?" I turned to him with frustrated expression; it began to be frustrating to hear every time that my body wasn't like them, it reminded me how much I was different...especially from him; to my great surprise Ate'yo patted my cheek

"It bothers you? I don't understand yet when physical contact is appropriate or not; you humans have a strange conception of decency "evidently he was referring to the fact that I didn't want take a bath with him or show me naked; the Yautja instead didn't have problems of this kind. I let his hands touch my face and my neck; I knew that he was only looking at my body structure, but I couldn't stop my heart from beating so strong nor avoid being excited; I was surprise when he handed me his left arm

"Try to feel the difference in our body structure, you will realize why I'm so surprised" it really wasn't difficult to guess that their strength was greater than humans and that their skin was much stronger than ours, besides I had already had this opportunity, even if only once; but now I could look at him closely so I slid my hand on his arm, touching his fingers, his claws...it was beautiful, I loved it; his hand ran through my hair, I looked up and saw him bend down to me to allow me to touch his dread; I grabbed one and stroked along its length, my breathing was accelerating and the breast began to ache for the thrill

"Elise...are you ok?" he said my name gently; when he puts a finger on my lips I arrived at limit of endurance; with a trembling hand I was about to touch his mandibles, while my thoughts kept telling me _kiss him stupid woman, kiss him!_

"If you have finished _wasting time_ I expect to find you in the control room _in less than two minutes_ "

I whirled around and instinctively moved away from Ate'yo; Teylar took two syringes and left the infirmary; fuck, when he entered?! I blushed with shame

"Better if we hurry" said Ate'yo; I get off the metal table and together with him I went into the control room. When we entered Teylar was sitting in front of the control panel and checked that the route was correct; the other unblooded was already there. We took stock of the situation: four Bad blood; Teylar had killed two, another had died thanks to my companions but they didn't survive the battle and the last was dead because of me and Ate'yo (and this news left Teylar quite puzzled); Teylar would send a message to the Elders to immediately send a group of warriors to control the hunting ground and be assured of its safety; once back, he and Ate'yo would do a full report and only then I would know something about the possibility of being accepted or not as an official member of the clan, despite the skepticism of my master. After the meeting at last I was able to retire to my room; I was really tired and I couldn't wait to get home to get me a nice bath in complete privacy and have some news on the outcome of my rite of passage; I let Ate'yo retired to his room and bring with him Talion, in order to accustom the hound in his presence; before going to sleep I made a detour to the common room to eat something

"Ooman" Teylar came alongside me, probably headed in the same direction

"If you're going to insult or denigrate me, master, please do it now, I'm too tired for a long discussion" I expected a reproach or a cold response, but he didn't say anything, merely walking by my side. I turned to a passage leading to the common room and in that instant I felt grasp firmly by the shoulder and thrown against the wall; the bruise on my back caused me severe pain. Teylar stood in front of me and before I could say anything he covered my mouth with one hand and with the other blocked both my arms; I tried to free myself but he pushed his body against mine and prevented me any movement; I was totally helpless; my breathing quickened suddenly. Our eyes met; I wasn't scared, I was rather angry to be treated in that way; he brought his face close to mine

"If I was an enemy you'd be dead" he whispered and came even closer; a shiver ran down my spine when I heard his mandibles touching my neck, he took a deep breath: he was sniffing me; when he looked back to me I glared at him but he didn't care, his ice-blue eyes wouldn't stop staring at me; he seemed…relieved

"No matter how I figure it, I can't understand why; why I should care about a small and insignificant creature like you, why I resent the idea that other males can leave their musk on you and above all, why, in the name of all our gods, now I can't keep control over my actions..."

I couldn't nor want to believe what I had just heard: Teylar, one of the most Yautja assholes that I had met was experiencing in person human feelings, but he couldn't understand them...at that moment I thought that we were very close, he and I: I also often wanted to understand the behavior of the Yautja but I couldn't, I would never be like them in every way even if I wanted it terribly; I was trying to live in two different worlds, but who or what was I really? I jumped when I felt his teeth biting my ear, his body pressed against mine, his breathing accelerated...oh, shit...

* * *

Hi guys! let me a nice review if you liked this chapter (but even if you didn't like it) and thanks to all the people that follow me!


	10. Brainstorming

_10\. Brainstorming_

I woke up dazed and sore, so tired that my eyes refused to stay open, the muscles that ached for my every move and begged to rest a little longer after the rough battle, as my pulse began to ask for another dose of anesthetic; probably I hadn't slept much and the effects on my body were evident. It had been the slight trembling of the ship to wake me, letting me know that I was finally coming "home"; with an incredible effort I forced myself to sit up on the bed and tried to relax both my body and my mind; what a bad night...I was so confused, I still couldn't believe what had happened yesterday; I felt the urge to talk to Ate'yo, but I didn't think it would be really useful...slowly I began to prepare my things for the return, eager to get off this damned ship; I'll think later to eat something for breakfast. I had just started wearing my armor (bruised and without gun) and the weapons when Ate'yo came into the room, and his expression didn't seem very happy; I tried to smile but he marched straight toward me and pointed a finger at me, I stared at him worried

"Ooman, this is the first and the last time that your damn hound sleeps in my room!" my expression became puzzled

"Why? What happened?"

"It attempted to bite all the pieces of my armor; it began to yelp for several hours without reason and to make matters worse in the middle of the night jumped on my stomach while I slept!" I was incredulous at those words, but just a second later I laughed amused; as it seemed I wasn't the only one who had endured a bad night; Ate'yo looked at me angry  
"There is nothing to laugh about, Ooman, trains that beast as it should or I will add its head to my trophies" I had already realized that when he didn't call me by name he wasn't kidding at all  
"Ate'yo don't be so...ouch!" I put my hands on my abdomen that had a violent contraction, my muscles couldn't bear even the laughs; heck, I was worse than I thought. When I looked up I saw him bend down to me; his face was expressionless, but at least he didn't seem angry anymore

"How do you feel?"

"Damn, you ask me really too many times; I just need to rest a little longer, but I'll be back in top form very quickly" I didn't want to show again the fragility of my constitution, I should heal quickly at all costs; I was just a moment in silence, uncertain whether to speak or not, but in the end I tried to tell him "...something happened last night, no big deal but...I don't know how..." the ship began to tremble more, we were about to land  
"whatever it is will have to wait, prepare yourself and..." he pointed to the door, Talion was yelping and was afraid to come into the room "...and keep an eye on that animal". When we arrived in front of the huge door of the spaceship, Teylar and the other unblooded were already there; when my eyes met those of my master I didn't look away, even if I felt uncomfortable in his presence absolutely I didn't want to give him the impression of feeling submissive. The silence was total for a few minutes, until I distinctly heard the ship that touched the ground; the large door opened and waiting for us there were some young Yautja and several females, probably intrigued by the outcome of the test and eager to see the new young hunters (and possible mates); this time they would be all disappointed. Among them I recognized Alyara and her baby; I decided to meet her in greeting  
"My respects Alyara"

"My greetings Elise, glad to see you come back victorious" she watched Talion with curious eyes  
"Errrr...there was some small problem and..." I fell silent when Teylar walked close to me and spoke to Alyara in their language; as usual I tried to listen, but I knew only few sporadic word; I saw Alyara bow the head and nod, then he turned to me  
"Follow the other females, they will think to heal you; we will report to the Elders and soon as I know something of your rite I'll let you know" and walked away along with Ate'yo without saying another word. As soon as they left I turned to Alyara  
"Please, _please_ tell me how you can resist the temptation to smash his face!" she looked at me without understanding, then I continued "I understand that it's your partner, but what the hell! He is unbearable! He looks the others down upon and everything he says seems an order!" she looked at me surprised, obviously she didn't expect a so "inappropriate" behavior against a more experienced warrior

"Teylar protects my safety and takes care of his children, training them personally to become strong warriors; I couldn't expect a better companion" I didn't reply to that statement, and I just nodded: she probably wouldn't understand even if I tried to explain. On the way I told her of our hunting and aggression from the Bad bloods and she was pleasantly surprised of my battle against one of them; we discussed nicely even when I had to undergo a particular operation to replace the wrist bone; their technology continued to surprise me: I didn't feel any pain, that ugly wound would disappear and I would be healed in record time; after the operation they made me wear a rigid metal structure that would have surrounded my wrist to give it time to heal. I spoke with Alyara still for quite some, I told her something of my planet and I had the opportunity to play with her children. I went home with an urgent need to take a bath; I put down the armor (I had to remember to repair it as soon as possible and take a new gun), I stroked Talion, who meanwhile was lying on the floor, and walked into the bathroom, I opened the door  
"You came back later than expected, did you have some problem?" Ate'yo was sitting and immersed in the tub and with a cloth was cleaning out an arm; immediately I became red and covered my face with one hand; I knew that for him it wasn't a problem, and the temptation to look was very strong...but fuck, I was too embarrassed!

"I-I didn't know you were back! Damn, Ate'yo!"  
"An enemy might attack you in any situation, if you cannot control such behavior during a battle it would be a problem"  
"The battle is one thing...this situation is another!" gnnnnnn! Stupid…sexy Yautja, he couldn't understand... I heard his mandibles clicking frantically "...don't laugh!"  
"In any case, what did you want to talk to me about?"  
"I would like to talk to you without having to cover my eyes! I'll wait outside"  
"Come into my room, I'll join you soon" I went into his room and sat on the bed, thinking about how to start the conversation; come on, after all is not the end of the world...

The door opened a few minutes later, and when I saw him I opened my mouth in surprise: indeed he had worn something, but it was only a loincloth and he was still completely wet; he came over and sat down next to me as if nothing had happened, rubbing his arms with a cloth; I could clearly see the drops of water trickling down his body...  
"Ate'yo tell me the truth, you feel pleasure in torturing me psychologically"  
"What do you mean?" he looked at me puzzled, really he didn't understand how I felt at that moment  
"It doesn't matter, rather..." I looked for a moment his back; three long scratches were near his spine and didn't seem yet healed completely "The bad blood attacked you brutally"

"I'll help you clean up his head, it will be a good trophy; and in any case these scratches are nothing in comparison to the ribs that I had broken to him" he said proudly  
"May…I help you? It must be difficult to disinfect those wounds..." he looked at me a moment, then handed me the cloth he was using; immediately I went to take disinfectant, I sat behind him and with wet cloth I treated his wounds. While I took care of those scratches I didn't want to miss even one centimeter of his back; the pleasure I felt at that moment was immense, not only purely physical: he trusted me enough to let me touch him even though he was completely disarmed; my mouth opened but no sound came out, because my feelings for him were so strong that the words weren't enough to describe them; and then I had to suffocate those feelings, to let them die, because I couldn't tell him anyway...

"We reported what happened to the Elders; once they have reached a decision they will call us" I didn't answer, there was nothing to add; it was my turn to speak, but I didn't know how to begin

"and you?" he asked  
"Well, some females have cured my wrist, Alyara was kind enough to keep me company...Teylar asked me to become his mate..." with my hand still resting on his injury I felt his body tense up; he turned to me and, as usual, the closeness between us made my heart beat faster. Even I could hardly believe it; after having slammed me against the wall, Teylar had quickly regained control of his actions, even making his apologies for such shameful behavior; he took from his belt two bags and had shown me their content: they were the heads of the two Bad bloods that he had killed, and he also added that they were gifts to me, if I agreed to become his mate; I was shocked by that declaration and unable to utter a single word; he added that he would leave me time to think (and this left me even more amazed) and then walked away as if nothing had happened. I stared Ate'yo into his eyes; I didn't know exactly what I wanted from him, if a simple advice or cause him some kind of reaction; in response he put a hand on his chest and bowed his head slightly

"Congratulations Elise, Teylar will surely be a great..."  
"! Wait, wait, wait ... **you**...Do you **really** think that I have accepted?!"  
"Why you should have refuse?" his words were like a stab in the back; my emotions were confused, what was I supposed to feel? Anger, sadness...or maybe I should feel honored for this opportunity... no, I couldn't!  
"Ate'yo, **are** **you crazy?!** **Me and** **Teylar?!** " I exclaimed incredulously  
"He is a brave warrior, survived to many battles; with him you would be safe"  
"Yes, yes, I had to imagine that you would have said so; great warrior, strong, brave and blablabla..."

"I understand that perhaps for you the difference in species can be a problem, but there are no other humans here to mate; besides after two or three children you could decide to choose another partner; after all you are a huntress, when you will officially be a part of the clan you'll be able to choose your partner by yourself"  
"No, the fact that he is a Yautja is the least of my problems" it was everything else that I couldn't accept "I don't understand why he chose me; he insults me one day and the other as well, every time he tells me how much I am weak and useless...I am a human being and..."

"maybe that's why he chose you" I looked Ate'yo puzzled, he continued "you don't think like us, your emotions are completely different from ours; of course, this can be a great point of weakness, you can take risky choices and beyond any logic, but at the same time those feelings can be your greatest strength; Elise I saw you fight, I saw your determination, I have seen what happens when your feelings take the upper hand; and I'm sure also Teylar noticed it and this is why he chose you as a mate"  
"So why he continues to denigrate me?"  
"You should rather ask why he shouldn't do it, it's a great way to encourage young unblooded to do better"  
"...but I don't love him..." I began to falter; I seemed to have no more excuses to reject the proposal of Teylar

"What it means?" when I stared Ate'yo I was taken by anxiety, he didn't understand...  
"...I really need a bath now" and I left the room without adding anything else.  
When I immersed my body in the icy water I was hoping to be able to relax, but my thoughts kept tormenting me; I didn't understand how I should think, if as a human or as a Yautja; sitting here, alone in this big tub I really felt lost; I thought about what would happen if I agreed or not...their way of reproduction: the Yautja weren't monogamous then the most logical solution would be to choose each time a worthy companion to have children and continue my lineage, consequently choose Teylar was the best option...and my feelings? I always tried to suppress them, to hide them, but every time I tried they were returning to the surface; I...I wanted to be with Ate'yo, but even if it was possible I wondered if it would last long. The question was always the same: What was I?

I began to have headaches, two different worlds in the same mind; thoughts, too many thoughts! I took a deep breath and immersed into the water up over my head; nothing, in this time I just wanted to cancel my existence...after I washed, I went out of the tub and dried my body, put on my clothes and went out from the bathroom with the hair still wet; I was surprised to see Ate'yo waiting for me, he looked thoughtful  
"Elise, more than once I saw you while you were in trouble accepting some of our customs or ways of doing things, you have overcome many obstacles but your mind is still full of doubts" I was surprised, he had perfectly understood how I felt without even the need to talk; he came up to me

"My question now is: are you really convinced that you want to stay here?"

that question was more than understandable, but it hurt; I was happy here, I loved to hunt and fight, the idea to escape again only to avoid the problems I had in this world it was simply unacceptable; I had made a promise to myself: I would never come back, not in that world that I hated so much  
"Everything I want, everything I need is here, on this planet" I wanted to touch him but I held back, I couldn't even look him in the eyes; finally I confessed my fears "but...I'm afraid, because I am human, I am weak, fragile...and there are things about me that I can never change"

"...why you should show yourself to something you're not?" the question left me nothing short of astonished, I looked him; he continued "I've already told you, you're fine just as you are, you should not necessarily be like us; continues to prove your worth, your determination, and to show your way of thinking" Ate'yo gently put his hand on my shoulder, then caressed my cheek "because in this world is what makes you…special, I think this is the correct word"  
I stared at him shocked, and I barely held back tears; all my doubts, all my worries had collapsed like a house of cards, and only thanks to him; being a huntress without forgetting what I was, it was really possible? I didn't know...but maybe I could try

"Ate'yo… _thanks_ , I really..." I paused before saying something I could repent and I gave him the best of my smiles, it was the only thing I could do; his expression didn't change, still staring at me as if he was worried, and his mandibles snapped just one second; I looked at him puzzled  
"Elise…" his tone was serious "don't..." he trailed off when we warned the opening of an automatic door; a young hunter came in haste into the house and without even convey his greetings began to talk to Ate'yo in their language, their mandibles clicked frantically. The discussion was very short and the hunter went away as he had come; Ate'yo turned to me, from his expression I knew something was wrong

"Prepare yourself; we have to discuss with the Elders as soon as possible"  
"What's the matter?"  
"I don't know, but it is very urgent and it's specifically requested your presence"  
I wasted no time and ran immediately to prepare myself, but I couldn't shake off a sense of unease; whatever it was, I wouldn't like it.

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HI! sorry if there are no epic battles in this chapter but I hope you enjoyed :) thanks for reading and review!


	11. Departure

Hiii! I liked this chapter so much that I finished writing in record time! I couldn't wait to let you read :) I hope you enjoy and review!

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 _11\. Departure_

The staircase wasn't very long, but to me it seemed to go on forever; as I approached to that huge door I felt the anxiety growing in me, and in a sense it was understandable: I was about to enter in the "headquarters" of our clan, the residence and the meeting place of all the Elders, the place where all military and political decisions were taken; only the bravest warriors and wiser females had the opportunity to participate in meetings and make their contribution to the community, managing territories, sending expeditions, punishing the traitors...and only an Elder had the power to authorize two Yautja of the same clan to fight each other in a battle that, depending on the rules, could be deadly or not; yet here I was, a simple unblooded that was going to have the honor of crossing the threshold of that magnificent palace, and I didn't know whether to be excited or terribly worried.

The building was huge, a massive metal structure that loomed high into the sky and brightly illuminated by the rays of our sun, vaguely similar to a very high skyscraper; there were no windows and the metal was so dark that it could be compared to a smooth surface of black marble. I arrived with Ate'yo in front of the big door, which was always of metal, and waited for the opening; I tried in every way to have a safe and dignified attitude, but to be honest me I was really starting to tremble for agitation; Ate'yo instead wasn't at all intimidated by the majesty of the structure and waited patiently to be admitted, he had to be used to it.

As I expected, inside the building there wasn't that classic opulence that characterized the residences of our politicians, but it was very sober and empty except for the weapons that occasionally were resting on the metal walls; Ate'yo led me through a series of long corridors very similar to each other, and as time went on and we continued to cross the passages I had the fear of getting lost in the vastness of that environment. The sound of hurried footsteps caught my attention and I was very surprised when from a side corridor Teylar emerged, followed by Alyara; his eyes crossed with that of Ate'yo first, then with mine; and what I saw left me quite surprised: he was furious, he was really pissed off; my master gave me not even a word and walked quickly in the direction opposite to ours; I hadn't time to greet his mate and instinctively I wondered what happened. We turned into the same corridor that Teylar had just crossed and after a few more minutes we came across another large metal door, guarded by two warriors; as soon as they saw us, one of the two opened the door and went in, probably announcing our arrival. The minutes passed and the door was still closed, the anxiety was devouring me

"again the same situation" I said, Ate'yo looked at me without understanding "the first time that you saved my life; you had brought me in front of the Elder and even on that occasion the door didn't open immediately; I started to make you a lot of questions, I was nervous...like now" I smiled amused "probably at that time I was just a stupid and scared human for you"  
"Stupid? No; out of your mind? Yes" he smiled "but very brave"

"Don't you regret saving me, right?"

"Not even once" our eyes met, I was happy to have him at my side again. The door opened, revealing a large room with a big table in the center; I swallowed a handful of saliva and went in...Oh fuck; all six male Elders of our clan had gathered there and had their eyes fixed on me, I held my breath with excitement

"Ooman, known as Elise the murderess of queens, come closer" I recognized the Elder who was speaking: Atan'ko, survived to hundreds of battles; I did as he ordered "Some time ago, Elder Set'ni gave you a chance to become a member of our clan and took the responsibility to keep you under his custody; you saved one of our companions who became your guardian and you have been entrusted to a master to learn the art of hunting. And today we can say that you've proved your worth in the rite of passage, facing an enemy far beyond your capabilities with contempt of danger; despite the intervention of Ate'yo in the fight, the council met here is very impressed by your skills"

I didn't reveal any emotion, but my heart was so full of happiness that could burst at any moment; get the attention of the Elders was already a big success for me

"and yet, before accepting you as an integral part of this clan, we decided to give you a new task" Elder approached "just a little while ago, we received a signal from a spacecraft landed on your home planet, Earth; the young hunter who sent us the signal perished in the battle, but from the data available to us, it has been detected the presence of Kainde Amheda on Earth's surface"  
I was shocked by the news so unexpected; my body tensed and soon my surprise turned into anger; those creatures... _those_ _disgusting_ _creatures_! Why they were still on my planet?

"We give you the opportunity to defend your planet and destroy those abominations; return victorious and you will become part of our clan; enemies could be many, so your guardian can accompany you in the mission, if you desire"

"...I thank the council for the trust and the special treatment that I was reserved as human; I gladly accept this mission, with the promise not to disappoint you" I said those words without a second thought; I wasn't satisfied with my rite of passage, and this was a good opportunity to try it again, and then...I wanted to avoid innocent deaths, and not only because of those monsters: if I didn't accept the mission, the Elders would send other warriors that probably wouldn't have scruples to attack even humans; for the Yautja anyone who was armed was a potential opponent, even simple policemen or civilians; I hated my world, but that doesn't meant that someone had to die

"You can go to prepare yourself; as soon as you're ready we'll give you the coordinates" Elder gave me permission to get away from the room and so I did, followed by Ate'yo. As the door closed behind us I began immediately to think about what to do: I had to repair my armor, recover all the weapons, prepare the spacecraft...

"I don't like all this" said Ate'yo

"Me neither, those monsters must be eliminated immediately"

"I didn't mean this; it's a risky mission, and I don't think you're quite ready for a fight like that; Elders have too much hurry to test your skills"

"They do what they have to do: I am officially still a stranger who is trying to be accepted in their clan, a threat in some sense; if they ensure that they can trust me, that I am really a hunter, then I will be only one less problem to be addressed"

"Obviously it would be very stupid to decide to leave alone" his tone was very serious, it was an implicit declaration to say that he wouldn't leave me alone even if I begged, I found it extremely... cute!  
"Probably a couple of months ago I would have done, but I'm quite able to figure out what are my limits" I smiled "so my guardian, my friend, will accompany me in the mission" he didn't say anything but just nodded and put a hand on my shoulder. We didn't lose time and immediately began preparations for departure: my armor wasn't in the best conditions and at the end I was forced to replace it entirely, fortunately Ate'yo had already made some spare parts and it wasn't difficult to remedy another laser gun; the weapons weren't a problem, you could find them practically everywhere; with a little patience, I also convinced him to bring Talion with us, thinking it might be useful to find the Kainde Amheda.

To arrive on Earth we would use his spaceship, the one that generally he used to hunt alone; it was much smaller of those I was used to seeing, and in a way I preferred it. Ate'yo began to do the usual routine checks to make sure not to have any malfunction or trouble at the controls; I sat watching him as he walked around the ship and continued to press buttons on the device he had on his arm; and as I watched him I began to think a little about the mission: I was coming back on Earth, and I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the thing; of course, it was an important mission, but at the same time I felt a little repulsion for the world that I had left; I missed some things: pizza, movies, chats with friends, the sleepless nights spent studying...but here, oh, here I got a lot better; I stared Ate'yo intensely, and the erotic thoughts that came to my mind would have embarrassed anyone

"You're smiling, are you happy for the mission?"

"Ah! W-what?!" when I turned Alyara bowed slightly and sat down next to me, the difference in the constitution between us was huge: compared to her, I was minuscule "how do you know that?"

"I participated with Teylar in the meeting with the Elders" I looked at her questioningly, she began to explain "after report on the events of the rite of passage, Teylar and the Elders discussed regarding your admission to our clan, but during that conversation came a emergency signal from a ship on the planet Earth; discussing among themselves, the Elders decided to assign the mission to you"  
"I understand; but why Ate'yo couldn't participate? Besides Teylar seemed particularly angry when I saw him; if I may ask, why?" I couldn't forget the furious expression on his face

"Ate'yo is a good fighter, but hasn't yet reached a sufficient title to take part in meetings of the Elders; regarding Teylar, his reaction is perfectly normal, no male Yautja would be satisfied knowing that he can't protect one of his mates"

"...Eh?" I was pretty confused

"He chose you as his mate, right?"

"! Don't tell me you think I have accepted!"

"...Didn't you?" she looked at me surprised, I snorted in frustration; she spoke again "but during the meeting he acted as if you had accepted"

"...explain yourself better, please"

"Elders were satisfied with your progress but still undecided on your lot; Teylar tried in every way to convince them to accept you as part of the clan, and when they decided to send you on Earth he was very disappointed; he tried to propose himself as your guardian during the mission but was rejected, the Elders believed that with a warrior like him at your side you couldn't show your skills; then he went on a rampage, an unusual behavior, for him"

I stared at her open-mouthed: Teylar was trying to protect me?! Well, maybe Alyara was right, maybe it was just because he had chosen me, maybe...I had to talk to him; there were some things I wanted to clarify before departure, also because there was always the risk that I would die  
"Where is he now?" I asked

"You can find him in his home; he remained all the time locked in the trophy room"

"Thanks Alyara" I got up "...Can I ask you something?"

"Feel free to ask"

"One male Yautja can have several partners at the same time, I know that for you it's a perfectly normal thing, but...aren't you...jealous or angry? Even a little?" she looked at me with a puzzled expression, I tried to explain "You know, on my planet if another female tries to get close to a man who already has a partner risks life...well, not literally, but it is dangerous"

"...I think it's unusual, our priority is to conceive children strong and sturdy, worthy of becoming warriors; the number of females that a male has is indifferent; personally, I enjoy your company and I can help you to look after your children"

"Well, thank you; you are a friend, but I'm not going to have children at the moment" I smiled

"...friend?"  
"Yes, try to learn what this word means, I'd be happy" I greeted her and warned Ate'yo of my temporary absence. I walked toward Teylar's home, I didn't remember exactly where it was but I made an attempt...hoping to avoid mistakes, here the houses looked all the same! After some time finally I recognized the location of his house; I didn't knock (it was useless) and entered, trying to call him a few times; no answer, obviously he didn't want to be found, but I didn't have the patience nor the time to leave him alone; I opened some doors and on the third attempt I found him in front of the wall of trophies while he was cleaning a long spear on the table usually used for the evisceration of preys. I was very impressed, the number of skulls that could be counted was considerable; he turned around and couldn't hide his surprise at seeing me there; but that expression lasted only a moment

"I don't appreciate being disturbed in my home, so I hope you have a good reason to be here" his voice was altered, he wasn't in the mood; I took a deep breath and prepared myself to bear any insult and humiliation

"I came to greet my master before the departure" I approached him slowly

"So you've decided to go...with your guardian?" I nodded "I thought so; you wouldn't last even five minutes alone against Kainde Amheda"

"Teylar..." I started to say, but he turned and began to clean the spear again

"If there's nothing else you can go, I have better things to do than listen to you, Ooman"

I tried to reason with him; I gently called his name a few times, even trying to touch him on the arm; in response Teylar grabbed the metal structure around my wrist and pulled me away, annoyed; **ah** **is that so,** **eh**?! Very good! I always carried a knife with me, so I pulled it out of my belt and hurt him intentionally on the forearm; nothing serious, but I managed to get his attention. Teylar turned abruptly toward me, opening his mandibles and roaring furious

" **YOU LITTLE**...!"

" _NOW LISTEN TO ME, YOU IDIOT!"_ I was yelling at the top of my lungs " _I DON'T GIVE A FUCK OF YOUR DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR! STOP BEING AN ASSHOLE AND ACT LIKE A WARRIOR OF YOUR LEVEL SHOUL DO! AND FOR A FUCKING TIME LISTEN CAREFULLY TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY!"_

That was the first time I managed to silence him; the silence filled the room for a moment, when I was sure of his attention took a deep breath and began to speak

"Regarding your proposal to have me as a mate, even if I will return alive from this mission I am not certain to be able to give an answer; and that's because I'm just a weak human being, because I have my own way of thinking and I cannot predict what will happen to me in the near future, if I will accept some of your customs or will ask you to accept my; you probably don't care about what I'm saying but I didn't want to have outstanding accounts, and then I can tell you from the bottom of my human heart that even if you were one of the most Yautja bastards I have ever known..." another deep breath "... I want to _thank you_ Teylar, for what you taught me and for what you made me become" just finished speaking silence returned to the room; Teylar stared at me blankly, making me feel a vague sense of unease

"Have you finished?" he said

"...yes..." I said hesitantly; maybe I had it all wrong

"Well, now it's my turn"

He gripped my arm with such speed that I couldn't dodge it; he lifted me off the ground and forced me to sit on the table of the prey; I tried to free myself but as the last time he blocked my arms with one hand and pressed his body against mine; with the other hand grabbed my face and forced me to look into his eyes; I was about to say something really impolite, but he interrupted me

"This is a direct order from your superior, Elise" he came up so much that I could feel his breath on my face, his fingers caressing my cheek " _come back alive_ , I have no desire or intention to go on your planet to collect what remains of your body" his mandibles opened and touched my face, caressing it; I was wide-eyed and panting, as if I was suffocating, but I didn't know if I was scared or simply astonished by his behavior; I felt his hands loosen the grip and caress my body, but I didn't move, I stood staring at those ice eyes so close to my... his mouth... _I- could-not-breathe_...

Teylar released me and walked away, giving me the chance to get off the table and breathe again

"pant, pant...pervert" it was the only thing I could say as I took big gulps of air; he laughed amused

"Bring your ass out of here and don't come back until you have fulfilled your mission"

"Yes, master" I said in an ironic tone and walked towards the exit

"Ooman" his tone was serious, he was his old self again "I am a Yautja patient enough, but I don't tolerate any interference; don't forget"

I didn't understand what he meant but it was better not to ask; I limited myself to a slight bow and walked out of his house. Reminder: keep a distance of two meters away from him! I tried to return as soon as possible, I was afraid of losing too much time; Ate'yo was waiting near the ship, I ran towards him

"I'm sorry, am I late? Is it all ready?"

"Elders sent me the coordinates; shall we go?" I nodded and went on board with him and Talion. As the door of the spacecraft closed behind me I thought to check all the necessary equipment

"What did you do on the cheek?" asked Ate'yo; I instinctively touched my right cheek and I felt a little scratch on the cheekbone...Teylar had accidentally scratched me with his mandibles, the thing embarrassed me a little

"Oh, don't worry; a small accident, nothing important" I smiled but I didn't like his puzzled expression. We went together in the control room, Ate'yo sat down at central location and set the coordinates; I was surprised when he swore in his own language

"What's the problem?" I asked, worried; he didn't answer, but he just showed me the coordinates; I learned something about how to set the route of a ship and...wait, but this... **I couldn't believe it!**


	12. Tracks

Hiiiii! soon I will go on vacation and for a week or two I cannot write but I wanted at least post this chapter before departure :) maybe nobody cares, but I still wanted to keep you informed! I hope you enjoy it and write a nice review !

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 _12\. Tracks_

I breathed deeply the night air, without the need for artificial breathing device; a slight breeze was blowing from the coast and brought with it the scent of the sea and a breath of fresh air; I had missed that sensation, but I couldn't enjoy it for a long time...because when we arrived at our destination I couldn't believe my eyes. The place was the same and at the same time it wasn't: the first thing I saw were the bodies lying on the ground with the chest ripped open and the dried blood that stained the grass and the land of the clearing; then I watched the bulldozers, some even spilled to the ground, and finally the large stone blocks stacked on one side of the cave; yes, that cave...I was back where it all began. Ate'yo looked around the place, touching the corpse of a poor worker who was just doing his job, and his expression was puzzled as much as mine

"When I called here a ship to return to my planet, I remember clearly that one of my companions had thrown a bomb into the cave to kill all Kainde Amheda; something is wrong" he looked around, probably expecting to find them at any moment; Talion was beside him and sniffed the ground, looking for some clue. I went to the cave and watched the entrance: they were apparently digging inside and it seemed that somehow wanted to rebuild it, but why bother so much for such a thing? The answer came to me when I looked down from the ravine nearby: the cave was located right above the coast and even if there was nothing dangerous inside it was very deep; if the structure collapsed, it could cause a landslide that could have hit the unsuspecting tourists who just wanted to take a bath in peace; probably they became aware of the problem when it was in a critical condition, this would explain why in all the time that I was away nothing happened. What remained was to figure out how the devil did the Kainde Amheda to survive! Ate'yo came up beside me; he had donned his mask

"I don't detect their presence around here; we go in and let the tracks "and he went into the cave, I followed him shortly after followed by my hound. The inside was sufficiently illuminated by electric lights installed by the workers, so we managed to move forward without major problems; Ate'yo proceeded slowly and continued to scan the area, we couldn't afford to get trapped with those creatures around. We walked on for an indefinite time until we came to a clearing large enough; we agreed that probably the bomb had been placed precisely in this point; but then why didn't it work? I began to examine the area in search of some clue, examining it centimeter by centimeter; unfortunately, as I tried I couldn't see anything abnormal, Talion seemed nervous, sniffing the air and growling softly

"Elise, this way" Ate'yo had walked inside a tunnel that penetrated even further into the depths of the cave; I joined him immediately, he stopped in front of a wall of debris and rock with a long, narrow crack on one side; the body of another worker was lying there on the ground, with the chest ripped open

"That's how they survived" he pointed to the crack and asked me to look into it; when I saw what was in it I was speechless: eggs of Kainde Amheda, undamaged and empty; shit! Ate'yo began to explain "probably the queen had started to lay eggs even in here; when the bomb exploded this wall collapsed and protected the eggs" and when excavations began, workers innocently started to break down this wall, the puppies have come out from the eggs and made a mess; but now where the devil were the adults? Ate'yo tried to get into the crack, but it was obviously too small for him, so I tried to pass, the solid rock that scratched my belly; it was better not to break down the wall. I managed to get into that confined space; I looked at the eggs and began counting

"...Do you want to hear first the good or the bad news?" I asked to Ate'yo

"There are no good news with Kainde Amheda in freedom"

"Well, the good news is that the bomb also destroyed a portion of the eggs in here, a wall collapsed and crushed some of them, the bad news...is that there are sixteen empty eggs"

"One of them could soon become the new queen if we don't hurry to exterminate them"

"…I was just wondering: to send the coordinates, the hunter had to be here, but where is his body?" I walked over the rubble and tried to take a look; I was surprised to see the body of another worker on the ground; probably that poor man, driven by curiosity, turned aside to see the eggs and did this ugly en...I felt something wet on my shoulder, a kind of jelly and sticky liquid; I looked up... **oh shit!**

 _*SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH*_

I jumped to one side and avoided the attack of Kainde Amheda; the creature tried to grab me, but I backed off quickly; I took a knife and when it approached again I was able to drive it in its paw, making it scream of rage; the blood corroded the knife, I had to measure out my attacks or I would have been unarmed. I was at a disadvantage: in that environment so tight it was virtually impossible for me to use the gun and my movements were limited; behind me I heard Ate'yo roaring and trying to get in, but he couldn't break down that wall, or there was a risk to bring down everything

" **Elise! Get out immediately!** " He shouted, but I didn't listen; I was here for a reason, I was a huntress, and at the cost of my life I had to kill that monster. I pulled out my spear and opened the extremities, exploiting them to deflect the attacks of the Kainde Amheda; its tail was waving furiously and tried to hit me, causing me a long cut on the cheek; I fought back immediately, with an accurate shot of the spear I blocked its tail on the ground and before the creature could break free I took a second knife and cut it; I was forced to back off very quickly, the corrosive blood spurted everywhere and hit my armor on the right shoulder, forcing me to take it off; the creature screamed again and charged towards me, I was trapped in a corner and I did the only thing possible: I grabbed the spear retracting the extremities and threw myself on the ground to get a better angle; the Kainde Amheda jumped on me with all the weight, clawing my arms and causing me terrible pain; Ate'yo roared louder and Talion began to hit the wall, but it was over; the monster opened that disgusting mouth and pull out that kind of tongue with the teeth, and in that moment I took out one of the extremities of the spear, pointing it straight at the base of its throat. It was a shot quick and precise, which pierced the creature from side to side until coming to the brain; the Kainde Amheda stopped moving and before its heavy body fell on me I rolled to one side; the corpse spilled on the ground, already dead

" **Elise! I can't see you!"**

"it's all right Ate'yo, I'm alive" I went in front of the crack "I take the head of that thing and get out of here" while I checked my wounds (those on the shoulders ached, but I could resist), I went to remove the spear from the body, fortunately it hadn't been severely corroded; with the knife I cut off its head and I realized one thing: I didn't remember that their heads were of this size...this...this is the head of a puppy! **Fuck**! Despite its size it wasn't an adult! Too easy! I snarled with anger and put the head in a bag; too bulky, maybe I should ask Ate'yo to bring it for me. I crossed the crack; Damn, I was really...Ate'yo grabbed my face with one hand; his grip was strong, took my breath away

" _when I order you to do something, I expect you to obey me, you crazy Ooman_!" he growled angry

"mfrpfmrpmfrmfrpfff!" he removed the hand from my face, I rubbed my nose sore "order?! And since I have to obey your orders!"

"I am your guardian! And since there is no one else except for us I am a rank higher than yours! So you'd better listen to me next time, unblooded!" he approached menacingly, but Talion blocked his way and growled at him, trying to protect me; I stroked the hound on the head to calm its fury and allow Ate'yo to approach

"Don't worry; it was just a puppy..." I thought that knowing this he would calm down, but instead he grabbed my chin and looked me straight in the eyes; his mandibles clicked nervous

"An order is an order Elise, you can't disobey your superiors; this is a law that you cannot change, remember, or you may have problems in the future" he left my chin; he was so...different from the Ate'yo that I knew; on the one hand it was understandable, we were in the middle of a mission, but he had never attacked me so openly...I just nodded to his statement, in each case he was right. I watched him as he took a deep breath and calmed down

"We go out and find our companion, and then we will take stock of the situation"

"Okay..." I answered uncertainly; before leaving we eliminated the bodies of the workers using a particular substance that corroded all within a few minutes. Just outside, Ate'yo began to look for traces of the hunter disappeared; I watched him carefully, trying to do the same thing; Teylar had taught me the basics, but applying them was something else and I realized that I hadn't used enough what I knew in my rite of passage. Time passed, and check that area centimeter by centimeter began to be boring, but this also meant hunt; finally Talion began to yelp, finding some tracks on the road to the coast, good pet

"If they were puppies, they have tried to escape and our companion chased them" said Ate'yo

"And how they could kill him? They shouldn't be a problem for a young hunter"

"not individually or in groups of four or five, if we talk about puppies; but ten or more become a problem, and remember that there is one that is becoming larger than the others, the new queen"

We eliminated the bodies of all the workers and following the tracks we walked towards the coast; on the way I looked Ate'yo a few times, thinking back to his behavior; his presence was essential, I couldn't do it alone, but at the same time I wondered if it was a good to bring him with me and not someone else...as Teylar...no, it was faulty reasoning; the fact was that my feelings were influencing my judgment against him and didn't allow me to see things as they were: we weren't two friends at a picnic, but two hunters of different rank in search of the enemy; I had to get this in mind if I wanted to accept the idea of obedience to him.

The body of the other hunter was lying on the sand, limbs torn and devoured; with him we found the bodies of three Kainde Amheda puppies; I recited a prayer for him and we eliminated all bodies; although reluctant, I was forced to take one of his knives, but if it wasn't for the situation I wouldn't have done: the weapons of a hunter belong only to the hunter himself. The Kainde Amheda were smarter than I thought, they had enter into the water to disperse tracks

"So" began Ate'yo "Kainde Amheda takes about twelve hours to become adults; the queen, instead, requires least twenty-four hours; there is still time, but we must be quick"

"let us recapitulate: the cave is about to collapse completely, someone reports it and the workers come to fix what they can, but they accidentally free the eggs trapped...how long an egg can survive?"

"A long time, even years, when it's closed; the Kainde Amheda fecundate humans and once born they remain in the cave waiting to grow; probably the puppy that we found in there was no longer able to get out of the crack"

"But our partner notices the mess and going to flush them out; The Kainde Amheda escape, their nest is no longer safe and they run to the coast"

"At that point, in a space large enough, they surround the young hunter and kill him, though some of them perish. Now their main concern is to find a new nest to become adults, and most importantly protect the queen. The problem is where they went"

The answer was already in my mind, but I hoped with all my heart that it wasn't so

"...There is a small town not far from here... there's nothing else in the area who can act as a refuge for them"

"Great, memories of your planet are still vivid in your mind"

"It's hard to forget the place where you were born" I smiled; he stared at me in surprise, then opened the device on his arm and called the ship, it would be definitely faster than walking. In those few minutes of waiting I was absorbed in my thoughts; damn it, return home...but I had to do, for my friends, for their families who perhaps still lived there; probably no one had already raised the alarm at the absence of workers, but we had to solve everything this night, otherwise things would become more complicated with the police in the way. I jumped when Ate'yo put a hand on my shoulder

"When we reach that point don't initiate nothing, do what I tell you and obey to orders; you will still have the opportunity to demonstrate your skills; I hope I was clear" he looked me straight in the eyes; I didn't answer, I didn't like at all his attitude; Elders had entrusted to me the mission, he was here just to accompany me...then why, **damn it!**

"Ooman" his tone was tough

"Ate'yo look, I cannot understand why...!" I blushed when he put his index finger on my lips for silence me

"Even if your human mind thinks in a way you _can't_ and _mustn't_ do it all your way, okay? we came here _together_ , and hunt _together_ , and if I have to assert my authority to make you understand this then so be it; you were good at your rite of passage, very good, but this time instead of throw you headlong into danger learn how a real hunt is; I really don't understand Elise, now you have all the possibilities to become part of our clan but you still have too much hurry to demonstrate your skills and you risk of getting yourself killed; and the thing that makes me most angry is that...I don't know why"

"...you just said it; I want to be part of the clan, one of you, so I want to fight"

"Yes, but _why_?"

...because I didn't want to be only half of something; I was learning to accept my human feelings and the fact that they were so different from those of Yautja, but be accepted from them...it would make me feel really… _at home_ ; a new home, a place to stay, a place to return...and to stay by his side, always. I looked away, say something like that wasn't easy at all; he sighed

"You're not obliged to tell me, but let us work as a team and..."

"I will learn; you're right, from now on I will do as you say" be a hunter also meant to have patience; there was nothing to do, I had waited so long, I could wait another while. The spacecraft landed shortly after; we boarded and headed to my native town. I took a deep breath...I was ready.


	13. Team

And here we are with a new chapter after the holidays! Yeaaaaaah! Maybe it's a bit shorter than the others but I hope you like it anyway :) and don't forget to leave a nice review, thank you, thank you and thank you!

* * *

 _13\. Team_

We hid the spaceship just outside the city, then we walked through a series of back roads, narrow and dark to avoid being noticed; Ate'yo had activated his device for invisibility, but Talion was devoid of such an instrument so I found an alternative solution: I had tied around his neck a kind of collar and walked to his side casually; with a little luck we could be mistaken for an ordinary girl who was walking with her dog...if people don't got too close. At this hour the streets were almost deserted and shops closed; only the pub and disco were teeming with guys who probably wouldn't return home before sunrise. Oh, I remembered the nights spent in those pub: I hoped that the night would never end, I didn't want to go home...because I knew that the day after my hell would begin again...

"Everything is real quiet here" said Ate'yo; I couldn't see him but I heard his footsteps near me, a presence that anyone would find disturbing but for me it was very pleasant "probably the Kainde Amheda aren't still able to get out of their hiding" he pulled out of the bag the head of the puppy that I had killed in the cave, in his hands it seemed to float in the air; he tried bringing it closer to Talion but the hound growled irritated

"I really believe he doesn't like you" I said, trying to hide an amused smile; Ate'yo didn't answer and simply hand me the head, I took it and walked to Talion

"Come on, little puppy, tell me where are those disgusting beasts" the hound sniffed the head of the Kainde Amheda and immediately began to sniff the ground, heading in a specific direction; I followed him along with Ate'yo. As we walked down to the street of the city I recognized each shop: the ice cream shop with my favorite flavors; the music store and the candy store, Angela and I always went to watch the latest album releases crunching lollipops and chocolate...the voice of Ate'yo interrupted the flow of my memories

"Don't be distracted, focus on the mission" his tone was severe; heck, he was right as usual. We kept walking until Talion stopped at a street corner, continuing to sniff the air and moaning repeatedly; the hound sat on a manhole cover

"...the sewers! Of course!" I patted his head gently and moved him away from the opening of the manhole; I was going to pull out the spear and use it to open the passage but Ate'yo stopped me putting a hand on my shoulder

"Leave it to me" he deactivated the device of invisibility and approached the manhole, still looking around to make sure there was no one; he grabbed the cover with both hands and using his force moved it to the side; damn, watching his muscles twitching for the effort caused me a thrill of excitement. Ate'yo grabbed Talion, lifting it off the ground, and before the hound began to growl he lowered himself into the sewer; I used the ladder on the wall of the manhole to reach him; once I touched the ground I immediately put on the mask: the light wasn't enough to see clearly, and the smell was unbearable. Even with that stench, Talion continued to sniff the air and pointed to one direction

"We follow the hound up to their nest; we can't predict from where they will attack then you always remains behind me and don't let your guard down; after finding the queen I will plant a bomb to kill her and her children"

"! A bomb? We're right under the city, we risk revealing our presence and causing serious damage"

"Some broken pipe or cracks on the road will be the last problem of the Oomans if Kainde Amheda begin the hunt, their number is consistent and we are only two, it's the best way to kill them all"

"Maybe you were right...maybe it was better to send a shipment of warriors" I wondered for the first time if I had made the right choice, perhaps my impatience risked to involve innocent people

"I told you I didn't like this story and that the Elders had exaggerated to entrust you this task; but now we are here, you're not going to back out now"

"Rather I prefer a hole in the head from those disgusting creatures" I said determined; he smiled

"We try to avoid such a result"

I urged Talion to continue; I checked the gun and got ready for the worst. During our path the silence was almost complete, broken only by the flow of water into the sewer; Ate'yo walked in front of me, constantly looking around and giving me an occasional glance every now and then, as if to make sure that I was following him; we came until a junction and here Talion stopped, unsure which way to go; he sniffed and whimpered but gave no sign of wanting to continue; we tried to scan the area but the water hid the possible traces of their passage. Shit, now we had to check the passages one by one...I stepped aside just in time before the tail of Kainde Amheda came to pierce my stomach, I heard its claws to scratch the pipes; Ate'yo turned around, roaring menacingly and pulling out two blades from his right arm; the Kainde Amheda were two, but that wasn't what worried me: they had become adults, and that meant they were waiting only the full growth of the Queen before starting the hunt. Ate'yo railed against them, I took aim with the gun; I saw him while with his imposing size threw them to the ground without effort; as soon as one of them stood up I ordered to Talion to attack; the hound charged and bit one of its legs, holding it long enough to allow me to shoot straight at its head, causing it to explode; Ate'yo killed the other creature stabbing the blades into its skull, splitting it in two

"This means working as a team" he said; I couldn't tell if it was a compliment or a simple observation but I was happy to hear that

 _*SCREEEEEECH*_

A third creature came down from the ceiling and jumped on me, throwing me into the water and digging its claws into my arms; I screamed in pain and tried desperately to free myself from its grip; the Kainde Amheda was ready to smash my head with its tongue, but was suddenly pulled back strongly; Ate'yo grabbed its tail, threw it against a wall and smashed its heads with a gunshot. I got up in pain, my arms covered in blood; I had to take the medical kit or the pain would prevent me to fight again; Ate'yo helped me immediately, injecting in my veins their medicine

"Damn it!" I exclaimed in frustration, clenching my teeth to withstand the injection "I wasn't careful enough!" and now not only I was covered with mud and dirt from head to toe, but if he hadn't saved me I would be dead; I couldn't count on physical strength, so my senses had to be always ready...but I had failed, and in front of him, what a humiliation!

"You're alive, that's the important thing" he said, finishing the injection; I looked at him puzzled, I would have expected a rebuke in such a situation; I blushed a little for his comment. Talion began to growl and looked toward one of the two tunnels: he had found again a track; we stepped in that direction with weapons in hand; now the Kainde Amheda knew of our presence and would try in every way to stop us. Time passed and we walked through an endless series of passages until we arrive in a large open space where the pipes expelled all the dirty water; Talion stopped again and sat down, probably feeling the smell of the creatures; I looked around and I scanned the area with the mask, but there was no trace of them; those bastards knew to hide themselves well

"They are definitely here somewhere" Ate'yo prepared his gun, I did the same; he pointed to the tubes that from the top of the room threw water

"Wait for my signal and then shoot in there, I control the other exits"

I did as he ordered and took aim, waiting; this time I wanted to be ready and kept all my senses in alert to perceive the slightest sound. The silence became more oppressive, until I felt a distinct noise above us

"Shoot!" Ate'yo yelled, and he hadn't to repeat it twice; I began to fire repeatedly in the pipelines and I heard the screams of pain of a Kainde Amheda; those beings swarmed out of their hiding places and began to turn around us, in a threatening manner; they were too many

"Shit, they are surrounding us!" I cried

"Perfect, it will be even easier to get them off"

I looked at him surprised, Ate'yo seemed really excited about that situation; I realized that I was so concerned in completing the mission, so focused in my desire to be part of the clan that I had forgotten something that I had already tried: the thrill of the hunt, the exciting sensation caused from sinking the blades in your prey; I finally understood what Ate'yo had tried to tell me; follow the tracks, find the prey, also execute orders...hunting was this, it wasn't limited only to a rite of passage; I pushed away my human feelings, I wanted to unleash the huntress that was in me. The Kainde Amheda continued to turn around without attacking, protecting their territory

"I don't see the queen, but she must be close" Ate'yo took the bomb and was ready to activate it; suddenly one of the creatures attacked, but I was fast enough to hit it with the gun, then nothing prevented the others to lash out at us. I was ready to shoot again but Ate'yo unexpectedly grabbed me by the waist and lifted me off the ground, placing me on his shoulder; with a wild roar he railed against a Kainde Amheda and threw it violently against a wall, creating a way of escape; he threw the bomb to the center of the room and, taking at random one of the tunnels, he started to run as fast as possible; unfortunately I lost sight of Talion

"Watch my back!" he yelled. Although in a position far from comfortable, I grabbed a shuriken from my belt and I tried to fix my gun; the creatures were right behind us and, climbing on the pipes and the walls, were gaining ground; I aimed and threw the shuriken against one of them, hitting it in the head, then I fired a burst series of shots with the gun to try to slow them down, but I got only a slight advantage. We turned in another tunnel but a Kainde Amheda jumped on us and we fell into the water; I rolled to one side and I got up quickly, but Ate'yo was stuck to the floor from the creature and tried to get up, dodging its attacks; see him in danger made me react quickly, I grabbed the spear and I impaled the monster inside its own mouth; I helped him to take off the creature before its corrosive blood could hurt him; we continued to run even faster, hoping not to be achieved.

I began to miss the breath and the water of the sewers slowed my run, but I had no intention to give up; we entered into another passage, but we had to stop; **fuck**! A grate with thick iron bars blocked our way, a dead end; Ate'yo didn't stop and ran to the bars, trying to use his strength to bend them; I went quickly to him and tried to help as I could, but we had no time... the screams attracted my attention, the Kainde Amheda had stopped in front of the passage and were going to attack all together. I wanted to fight to the end and I was ready to shoot with the gun...but to my surprise Ate'yo grabbed me by the shoulder and threw me against the corner of the wall; his gesture was so unexpected that I had no time to say or do anything; he stood in front of me and wrapped my body with his big arms, pressing me to himself; my cheek was pressed against his chest, the small spikes pinched my face...he... _he was_... **he was protecting me with his body!** **No, no,** _ **NO!**_ The panic overwhelmed me and I instinctively threw my arms behind his back in a desperate attempt to protect him in my turn; the Kainde Amheda cried out again, they were ready to attack

" _Ate'yo_!" I shouted his name in a shrill voice, my brain couldn't think rationally

" **Shut your mouth and close your eyes**!" He forced me to bury my head into his chest. I heard a loud "click"...and then the bomb exploded _ **.**_


	14. Past and Present

_14\. Past and Present_

The blast was terrible, the power of the bomb was enough to knock down some walls of the sewers; the pipes exploded and we were crushed against the wall. I couldn't see anything, just feel the water flood us completely and debris scratch my arms and legs; the noise was unbearable, so loud that my ears hurt and the cries of Kainde Amheda were added to that hellish noise. Ate'yo hugged me, protecting me by any means; I was afraid...no, I was terrified and I hugged him as I could. That terrible noise lasted still for several minutes, then the wind caused by the explosion began to wane, and I didn't feel more debris hit my body; I slowly opened my eyes, scared and even huddled in his arms; I looked up and saw him as he opened his eyes and spat in disgust the dust from his mouth; our eyes met

 **"...are you okay?!"**

 **"... Are you okay?!"** we exclaimed in unison, both concerned about the safety of the other; we kept staring at each other a few seconds without speaking, it was Ate'yo to speak first

"It looks like we made it, fortunately" he said as he took a deep breath; I was about to answer, but when I opened my mouth no sound came from my lips; a strange feeling took hold of my body; my legs and arms began to tremble visibly, I couldn't breathe regularly and hardly I could barely stand...I recognized the symptoms: I was having a panic attack. When Ate'yo called my name and my eyes met again with his, he knew immediately that something was wrong; I tried to speak but I could hardly bring the air in the lungs and continued to pant heavily; he ceased to hold me tight to himself but his arms remained around my body; he took off his mask and took mine too, brought his mandibles to my ear...and began to purr softly. I was surprised by his behavior and wondered if it was a problem for him to have an attitude...so docile; I tried to get away from him

"Ate'yo-do-not-worry...not..." but talk was a huge effort; he ignored my words and purred louder, stroking my back and cradling me slowly. I couldn't help but close my eyes and rest the head on his chest, taking deep breaths to calm down and listening to the vibrations reverberating from his body; surrounded by his strong arms I felt safe and protected, it was a wonderful feeling...I wanted stay that way again and again

"I'm sorry…" I said in a whisper; he didn't answer and just ran a hand through my hair. After a few minutes I finally managed to regain control, I opened my eyes again and looked at him

"It's all right now" he said, without making any comment on my weakness

"Thank you" I continued to stare at him; our faces were so close, I wanted to kiss him desperately

"Elise ..."

"Y-yes?"

"I can't move if you don't take away your nails off my back"

At those words instinctively I snapped back, letting him go; I picked up my mask, fall to the ground, and put on quickly; I was surely become completely red. Ate'yo donned his mask and began to scan the area

"We check the zone; we can't be certain of killing them all"

As we walked out of that dead end I looked at my arms and legs; they were covered with scratches and bruises, nothing serious; but when I looked at the back of Ate'yo, I had a heart attack: his skin was torn in many places, and blood flowed from his wounds, I could clearly see some fragments of metal embedded in his flesh; he didn't seem to give them much importance, his stamina was incredible but I couldn't help but feel guilty, he was wounded to protect me...The guts of Kainde Amheda were scattered everywhere and blood had corroded walls and pipes. We were about to take the passage from which we escaped but a loud scream stopped us; shit! Some monster was still alive! I took my spear and prepared to fight; Ate'yo pulled back the blades from the right arm and ordered me to stand still, coming first in the passage; the sound of footsteps running, getting closer, getting stronger... **fuck, I knew who it was**! I didn't have time to make a single move that I heard a terrible roar...Ate'yo!

The Queen appeared, she wasn't yet fully grown, but this didn't make her less dangerous...and with her tail had pierced the shoulder of Ate'yo, dragging him like a puppet; he managed to free himself by cutting the last part of the tail, his blood spurting everywhere. I went mad; literally; anger exploded inside me, I wanted to kill that _bitch_ that had put her filthy paws on him! I aimed and fired a burst of shots, then ran towards her with the spear in my hands, determined to hit the legs; she tried to hit me with the tail but I slipped into the water and dodged the attack; the Queen pounced on me and tried to bite me with that disgusting mouth; I deflected her attacks with the spear and rolled from side to side to try to get up as soon as possible. A gunshot struck her right in the face, forcing her to retreat; even if seriously wounded, Ate'yo continued to fight and with another laser attack he managed to make her drop to her knees; The Queen turned to him and screamed furious, this gave me the perfect opportunity to act: I jumped on her back and tried to hold on to her protruding bones; the whore immediately started to get agitated, stepping back and repeatedly hitting a wall to try to make me fall; I bumped into a broken pipe and felt a sharp pain in the back but I would never let her go.

While Ate'yo fired with the gun to the legs to prevent her from moving, I continued to climb on her back until I found myself at the height of her head; quickly I grabbed the whip and wrapped it around her neck, pulling on with all my strength; Queen tried to break free; my hands were bleeding for the effort, the wrist ached terribly, and the muscles of my arms were at the limit but slowly her flesh began to be torn from the blades of the whip; I had to kill her before the blood began to erode my weapon and I pulled even stronger, the pain became unbearable. The Queen opposed less and less resistance and at that point I gave a final and strong tug

" _Off with her head!_ " I shouted, and the Queen's head finally broke away from the body that collapsed to the ground. I fell badly and hit the ground with my right arm, screaming in pain; my hands were bleeding and every muscle ached terribly, but I wiped the tears and I got up, Ate'yo needed me. I saw him as he held his injured shoulder and tried to take his medical kit; I helped him immediately and unceremoniously I injected a high dose of medicine to stop the bleeding; he roared in pain

" _Please_ tell me you're not dying" I said concerned while I took care of his wound; he gave me a forced smile

"It takes more than that to kill me"

I helped him to sit with his back against the wall to allow him to rest; I sat by his side, even my body needed a break. We stood a few minutes in silence, the muscles slowly relaxed, then we looked at each other...and instinctively a roar of victory came from our lips

"We did it! **We did it! I can't believe it!** " I laughed, muscles aching but I didn't care

"You did it, _young hunter_ " he answered; oh-my-Paya, I passed the test! I was one of them! I could cry with joy! Now I just had to attend to my ceremony...but there was still something else I had to do

"We aren't a bad team...right?" I asked him, he nodded "and when I will become officially a huntress you will no longer be my guardian..." he nodded again; come on Elise! Ask him! "But, you know, I was wondering...I don't believe to be so good to take care of myself...and then I thought... is it a problem if ... if... _if I- stay-with- you_?" I avoided looking at him in the face; I had to be all red; he looked at me puzzled

"You couldn't wait to be a huntress; you will have a house, a spaceship and you have the chance to choose where to hunt; aren't you happy?"

"Of course I am happy! Just...I got used so much to stay in your home…we are friends…and then I'd like to see all the places where you've been; we can go together, perhaps to hunt, and you can still teach me many things...just another bit...but if you don't want..." I had the nerves on edge; I bit my lip and kept torturing some strands of hair

"...Well, why not? I can still teach something to an Ooman mad like you" he smiled; my heart began beat strongly for happiness, I could still be around him

"It will be difficult to convince Teylar, but we can discuss it"

"Oh sure, if Tey...wait, what does this have to do with Teylar!" I exclaimed, once become huntress Teylar will no longer be my master

"If you decide to become his mate you will live with him, we have to discuss it"

" **Again with this story?!** "

"I really don't understand why you're so upset" he said simply; I made a huge effort just to ask him to stay at his side and now HE spoke **to mate** with another Yautja!

" _Ate'yooooooo_..." I gave him a punch on the shoulder and he grunted in pain but I didn't give him time to say something "I have my reasons, stupid alien with a face like _a crab_!" I exclaimed angry

"...crab?"

A sudden noise caught our attention, a groan in the distance approaching slowly; I listened carefully

"...Talion…Talion!" I called my hound with a loud voice, I tried to get up but I was still too weak; Talion emerged from a passage and came towards me limping and yelping; I let him come near and I welcomed in my arms, making him sit between my legs

"Ooooooh good guy, you're back from mommy!" I kissed him on the head and nose, letting him lick my arm; when Ate'yo tried to stroke him, Talion growled menacingly "mpf! He really doesn't like you and he's right!" I said; Ate'yo couldn't help but snort.

As the pain of wounds decreased we got up and we prepared for the return; I took the Queen's head and put it in a bag, then we eliminated all remnants of Kainde Amheda; we chose another route to go back to the surface, the explosion had attracted the police and fire departments. We arrived to another manhole and Ate'yo lifted it, coming out into the street carrying Talion with him; I followed him shortly after, but as soon as my head emerged to the surface, I recognized immediately the street where I was, oh…

"Ate'yo..." he looked back at me "before leaving there's one thing I want to do, I know that it wouldn't be the time to stop, but please…" maybe I convinced him for my pleading look, but he nodded; and so we walked down that street that I knew since I was born...

 _Sometime later..._

The place hadn't changed much, except for the words "for sale"; I crossed the small driveway flanked by vases and flowers of different types, it was a sign that the owner wasn't yet gone away; the windows were closed and no light was on, I realized that there was no one; perfect, everything would have been easier; I lifted the third plant on the right and found the key, old habits die hard; I opened the door and turned on the light, letting in Talion; Ate'yo came shortly after and deactivated the invisibility, looking around curious

"So this is a typical Ooman house"

"Welcome to my old house Ate'yo" I smiled bitterly, he looked at me surprised "forgive me, but there are things that I definitely want back, if there are still here. Make yourself comfortable and take a look around if you want" I left him to his exploration and looked at the house, evidently "mommie dearest" had thought recently to sell, a lot of furniture were still there and only some were packaged; I stroked Talion and ordered him to sit, then I walked on the floor above. I thought a mental list of things to take away: toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoos, towels, my computer, all gifts of Angela, IPod charger, my collection of DVDs and books...clothes? No...and all the pictures, my pictures, no memory of me had to stay in this house; I still had three empty bags to the belt, it could be enough.

I walked in the door in front of me, the bathroom, and took a lot of soaps and products for personal hygiene; then I went into my room, and I wasn't very surprised by what I saw: no more furniture, no pictures or shelves, only a pile of boxes at the side of the room; hmmm, sure my computer wasn't in there, maybe in the room of my "mother"? I went on the other side of the corridor and opened another door, but this time I wasn't completely indifferent: the unmade bed, the closet opened and all the clothes thrown together on the floor, those of my mother...and a man I didn't know; I immediately repressed anger, it was no longer my problem. I found my pc inside a drawer and put it in the bag; on the dresser there was a photo frame with a picture of me with some flowers near; I took the photo frame and took the photo, then I returned to my room and prepared to open all the boxes, I never realized how much stuff I had. I began to take DVDs, books and gifts; the sound of footsteps caught my attention, Ate'yo entered in the room

"Can you help me?" I asked; he nodded and began to help me; there were a few moments of silence between us, I was too focused to look for what I wanted

"These clothes don't give adequate protection, your culture is so different from ours" he said

"Well, usually are the cops or the army that..." I stopped when I turned to him; Ate'yo held in one hand one of my bras and panties; embarrassed I took them "er...these are veeeeery personal clothes, please don't touch them" he looked at me puzzled, but nodded patient. I opened another box and I finally found what I was looking: all my photo albums from when I was little; I sat on the floor and I opened one; in these photos I was 16 and some were along with Angela; I took another album, one when I was little; my parents held me in their arms and smiled in front of the camera; yet another album, photos of the University with my friends; Jeff, Kate, also Lara, Julie...

Instinctively I squeezed that album in my arms; in these photos there was my whole life, my memories, moments that would never return...and they were thrown into a cardboard box…the tears ran down my cheeks

"It's absurd" I whispered; Ate'yo stopped to open the boxes "to find a place to belong I had to go on another planet, I miss some things of this life but..." my sadness turned to anger, I held on to the album with the nails " _I hate this world_ "

Ate'yo put his hands on my shoulders; he knelt down beside me and when I turned to him he gently wiped my tears

"So you take what you want and let's go home" those simple words made me feel better immediately; I stopped crying and smiled. We finished check the boxes, I took the album and the rest and we went down to the floor below, even here I eliminated all my photos; just another couple of things: I went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and cupboard; oooooh I missed you my darling! I took a bar of chocolate and while I was eating I started to get some stuff

"Elise, have you finished?"

"I want you to taste human food; you'll love it!" I finished taking stuff and now I was really ready to go.

 _Later, on the ship..._

I couldn't stop laughing and I kept rolling around on the bed, while Ate'yo was starting to lose patience

"I wonder how you can eat this crap!" he said, spitting out a marshmallow; his expressions disgusted made me laugh too much, even though every laugh made my muscles contract painfully. Just arrived on the ship we treated our wounds and I couldn't enjoy the feeling of his hands on my body because the pain was too much; I was literally covered with bandages; fortunately, when it was my turn to heal him I was able to touch him on the back and arms. We washed away the mud (I haven't had a bath with him!) and now we were in my room and sat on my bed; as he continued to try the food, I opened my laptop and tried to choose a film

"What's this?"

"Hm? Oh a lollipop, I don't think you'll like it" I took the lollipop, unwrapped and put it in my mouth, then put it out again "It's like a candy, just..." Ate'yo took the lollipop out of my hands and put it in his mouth; I looked at him shocked; he again made a disgusted face

"Nasty" he gave me back the lollipop; I stared at the candy...then I put it in my mouth. We talked a lot and I kept laughing amused; I didn't stop looking at him, he was my present, and I wanted to enjoy him to the hilt. I finally decided the movie, I moved the computer to one side of the bed and lay down; I blushed when he lay down next to me, our bodies were touching

"Precisely, what is a movie?" he asked

"It is easier to let you see than explain it, but I am convinced that you will like it" I smiled

"I sincerely hope for you that I like more than I enjoyed the human food or I could get seriously angry"

"Oh, and what you do to me if you get angry?" he brought his face close to mine and whispered

"You don't want to know" he smiled in amusement, I realized only after the double meaning that could have that conversation and blushed a little, but he certainly hadn't noticed; It was definitely the time see the film to ease the tension in my body

"How do you distinguish a movie from another?"

"From the name"

"And this is called..."

"The Exorcist" I smiled.

* * *

So, did you like this chapter? I didn't want use the name of a real city because it wasn't important to the story. As always thank you so much for the support you give me and leave me a review to make me happy :) I accept advice and suggestions :) Sorry for any mistakes!


	15. Ceremony

_15\. Ceremony_

I slept soundly for several hours until I heard a voice calling me; I had sweet dreams, but the awakening was traumatic to say the least: every muscle ached at the slightest movement, especially the back, and my body refused to move. I brought the hands to my face for to rub my eyes and tried to open them; my gaze met with that of Ate'yo, he was calling me gently

"Finally you're awake" he said, his beautiful amber eyes laid on me and his dreadlocks that oscillated in front of my face; it took me a second to realize that his face was very close and his hot body touched mine; even though I was very tired it was impossible for me not to get excited for that contact; I tried to remain calm as possible and mumbled a

"Good morning...can you update me on the situation?" I asked

"We are about to return home; I imagined that you needed to rest, so when we left I set the ship with a lower speed"

"Thank you; we made very late yesterday, but I can't remember"

"You fell asleep while we were watching _Shining_ "

"Really? Well, it was the fourth consecutive film...I think you like them, right?" I smiled

"Lucky for you I find interesting to observe the behavior of you Oomans even if the movies are fictitious situations, young huntress"

"And it seems that you like horror movies in particular, you weren't scared not even once"

"I think I'm scarier than any _ghost_ or _paranormal presences_ " he smiled "are you going to laze all day? I'll help you clean up the head of the young Queen, so you can show it to the Elders during your ceremony"

"hmmmm...five more minutes, please" I said amused "I'm really tired, it hurts all over"

"We faced a tough battle and you deserve the proper rest, but I'd like to have my arm back, so I can take care to check the coordinates and think about the breakfast"

I looked puzzled, and instinctively my hand went behind my head; it wasn't a pillow, but his arm! I fell asleep on his arm, so close to him, in _my_ _bed_...and I hadn't even noticed! I wasted the best opportunity of my life, **fuck**! I lifted my head and let him free, without ceasing to watch him until he left the room; I swore in frustration, how can I be more stupid than that?! Well, now I had no motivation to lie in bed and decided to get up; I ached all over and walked slowly to the bathroom, still sleepy. I washed my face with cold water to wake me up at all, then I turned into a lamina of metal that I used as a mirror; my mouth dropped open in surprise: I was _horrible_! The tousled hair, rumpled clothes, a face like a zombie and the body that had more bandages of a mummy! And he had seen me in this state! Aaaaargh, from the frying pan to the fire!

I tried to make myself presentable; I arranged my braids, changed my clothes and took off the bandages, making sure that all the wounds were closed; watching my back in the mirror I saw a long scar that started from my right shoulder blade and came up to the left flank; I took the disinfectant and, gritting the teeth, I tried to medicate for its entire length; the second indelible mark on my body, the first was the symbol that Elder Set'ni had engraved on my right shoulder. I refused to cover me with new bandages and went to the kitchen, eager to drink some milk and alien fruits; the door opened and Ate'yo was sitting at the table, waiting for me; I sat down beside him, Talion crouched at my feet

"And your bandages?" he said, looking at my back

"Please, forget the terrible spectacle that you saw!" I exclaimed "even the girl of The Exorcist wasn't so bad!" I covered my face with the hands

"You...ugly? If you think you are ugly then I must seem like a monster"

"! You are...!" gorgeous, charming, lovely, sexy, attractive... "...you aren't so bad" I said, blushing

"Well, thanks" but his expression seemed puzzled; nothing seems to go right today! We finished breakfast and Ate'yo explained briefly in what consisted the ceremony: it took place without any special celebration and as I imagined Teylar would deliver in person the award for passing the test, but having received a task directed by the Elders I had to be at their presence to have an official recognition; I was really a special case. We cleaned the skull of the Queen and the puppy that I had killed; I didn't like the idea of having the head of a suckling in my collection but didn't have much choice; however, it wasn't easy to kill them and I would never have dared to throw it away.

When we were close to Yautja Prime, Ate'yo sent a signal to allow the landing; I began to be slightly nervous, present myself again in the sight of the Elders was a great honor but at the same time agitated me. The ship trembled a little before hitting the ground; I put on my armor, took my trophies (even if a bit heavy) and walked towards the exit with Ate'yo; the door opened and waiting for us there was the usual small crowd of females and unblooded interested by the outcome of the hunt

"Show them your trophies" said Ate'yo; I was a little puzzled but with a little effort I raised both heads of Kainde Amheda and showed it to them; some unblooded roared while females snapped their mandibles; wow, they had appreciated! I went down from the ship

"I apparently made a good impression" I said happy

"Don't let it go to your head, Ooman" said a voice behind me "we'll see if the Elders will be equally impressed"

I turned and saw Teylar walking toward me, followed by Alyara with her baby in her arms; with one hand he ordered Ate'yo to back away and his mate to stop, I imagined that he wanted to talk to me in private; I laid on the ground my trophies; he came closer and bent down toward me and lowered the tone of his voice so that no one could hear

"So you survived…" for a moment, just for a moment, his expression seemed relieved, but it disappeared as it had come "evidently my teachings can help even an insignificant creature like you"

"Insults as long as you want but soon this insignificant creature will be officially part of this clan, pervert" I said adapting my tone of voice, but I couldn't help but smile; he smiled in return

"Your mouth is insolent as usual" he grabbed me under the chin "maybe I can find another way to shut you up..." I saw him as he opened his mandibles and growled softly; I understood immediately the sexual meaning of that phrase but I tried not to show any discomfort

"you can't even touch me with a finger, so calm your hot spirits" and it was true; a male Yautja couldn't touch a female without her consent, it was considered dishonorable, as well as dangerous for the male himself consider the size of females; Teylar was allowed to take some liberties with me because not only I was an unblooded but also a human, but becoming an official member of the clan things changed

"If you become my mate I can touch you every time I want, in exchange for my protection and my loyalty"

"I haven't decided yet...the humans have a different conception, a woman prefer to choose just one partner and be with him for the rest of her life; you can deride my beliefs if you want, but before accepting the way you mate I want to try to..."

"And so be it, become my mate and I will not touch other females"

I stared at him speechless; he grinned amused

"I wonder, however, if you are able to satisfy me every time I want"

I was confused, very confused; I had always thought that impose my culture on this planet was impossible, and instead Teylar, precisely he, had destroyed this belief in seconds; he was my master, I couldn't bear him but I didn't hate him, and in any case I respected him; and he was offering me something that I could hardly find elsewhere, but...in that moment I could no longer look into his eyes and instinctively searched Ate'yo with the look; he was my guardian, protected me, he was strong and although he wasn't a warrior I considered him an excellent hunter, he was serious and aggressive when necessary but also kind and...and I loved him. My distraction was a big mistake; Teylar turned away from me and stared at me angry

"I thought I was clear, _no interference_ "

"Uh? I don't understand what..." he didn't give me time to finish the sentence and passed me, going straight to Ate'yo; they spoke briefly in their language; once finished Ate'yo bowed his head and Teylar turned to me

"When you're ready, head to the room of the Elders with your guardian, I'll wait there" and walked away without another word. I stared at him in disbelief, unable to understand his sudden change in mood

"Glad to see you Elise and welcome back safe and sound" Alyara approached me

"Thank you" I smiled

"I guess Teylar asked you again to become his mate"

"He doesn't know how to talk with women" I looked her baby "adorable!" Alyara looked at me a moment, then she handed me the baby; I took him in my arms, ooooh!

"I don't want to force your decision, you are free to choose your mate; my only advice is to choose wisely, Teylar probably will not be the only one interested in you after the ceremony"

"Really?" I looked at her surprised

"You have attracted much attention to yourself, in a positive way of course" she said with a smile "we can discuss after the ceremony of your mission, I would be happy to talk with you in peace"

"With great pleasure" I gave her the baby; we both bowed our heads to greet us and I looked at her as she walked away; Ate'yo approached me

"She has given you a great honor" he said, when I looked at him with questioning eyes he began to explain "Yautja females are extremely protective towards their children, they attack anyone who dares even to touch them; if she left you keep her baby most likely she has great confidence in you"  
"Oh ..." I was really honored to such a trust "well, she's a dear friend. Rather, what Teylar said to you?"

"He wants a full report of the mission; it's better if we go to the Elders as soon as possible, it isn't convenient to keep them waiting". So we headed for the residence of the Elders, leaving Talion at the entrance of the fortress; we crossed again the labyrinth of corridors and again we waited in front of that large door; I gritted the trophies in my hands, I felt the anxiety growing inside me  
"I'm so nervous and excited..." I said, Ate'yo put his hand on my shoulder without saying anything; that gesture calmed me, I will show to everyone my value. The door opened and we entered; Elders turned their eyes on me, along with them there was Teylar; I took a few steps forward and I put the trophies on the floor, making a deep bow. There was a moment of silence, and then Teylar came over and invited me to look up

"Elise, murderess of queens, you proved your worth and deserve to receive your prize; be honored, today you will become one of us" my master walked to a metal table, picked up an object and came back to me: it was a piece of armor to put on the right forearm, with a single push it was possible to extract two long blades; I couldn't wear it because I still had my wrist bandaged but I took that gift from his hands and bowed to thank him. I waited while my master bowed his head and let go the Elder Set'ni; I bowed once again and watched him as he took a sharp knife from his belt and warmed it with the laser, ready to engrave in my flesh the symbol of the clan; I handed him my right arm and gritted my teeth, it wouldn't be at all pleasant. The Elder ran his blade on my skin, just below the symbol that I already had; the incision was burning terribly

"I welcomed you between us and I gave you the opportunity to learn our customs; you have far exceeded my expectations; from now on you will be officially considered part of this clan, and will enjoy the same rights as other members" as he spoke continued to create the symbol; I kept my head down and tried in every way not to moan in pain, waiting patiently for the ceremony ended. When finished, the Elder ordered me to get up and to my surprise he put his hand on my shoulder  
"I'm proud of you, young huntress"

I didn't know if those words were part of the ceremony or not, but at that moment I wanted to hug him; I held back, limiting myself to bow the head; Set'ni gave me permission to get away from the room; I did as he ordered and took my trophies, I had a desperate need to get out of that fortress; my gaze crossed with that of Ate'yo, who put his hand on my shoulder and whispered

"I have to stay here to report; wait for me at home, I'll join you soon" I nodded and left the room. My nervousness wasn't appeased until the door of the mansion closed behind me; only after I let out a long sigh of relief. I couldn't believe it, this was my home now, the place to which I belonged...some tears of joy rolled down my face but I wiped them immediately, I didn't want to show me in this state. I walked to the house of Ate'yo with Talion; I went in the trophy room and put the two heads in my collection, along with the piece of armor that unfortunately I couldn't still wear; only then I was able to give vent to my human emotions: I screamed with joy, I took the IPod and turned on the music with full volume, starting to dance around the room; I laughed, my body needed to consume all that happiness

" _even if you're black or white, poor man or hero, I will tell you what I learned: live with no remorse; every time that we hurt somebody, we are the evil; every little choice you're making live with no remorse…_ " I was really in seventh heaven; I took the IPod and opened a photo of my friends "...you have sacrificed to save me, I just hope not to have disappointed you" I kissed the picture, then I looked at the beautiful face of Angela "I wish you were here...you know, so many things happened and...and then you were the one who knew how to talk to men!" I stroked the skull of the Bad blood that I had killed "I wonder what trophy would be more suitable to ask Ate'yo to become my partner; perhaps the first Queen who I killed? Or the last? What do you think?" I blushed at the thought; I wondered if one day I will really have the courage to ask him such a thing, but I knew that sooner or later it would happen, because I couldn't bear the idea of another female by his side; maybe I would been rejected but I wanted to try at least, seriously...sooner or later...maybe it would be all right, he would become my partner...and I could have babies...I blushed even more. I waited for him, and in the meantime I trained a little bit; time passed, the minutes became hours but he didn't return, he had to be very busy; I didn't like all that silence and so I decided to accept the invitation of Alyara, it would have been nice have a good conversation with her and the other females; perhaps I could ask her some advice on how to declare myself to Ate'yo...aaaaaah how embarrassing! I felt like a little girl struggling with her first adolescent crush. I stroked Talion and ordered him to watch the house, and I was about to walk out the door when Alyara entered the lobby; I smiled amicably

"Hey, I was just about to..." I stopped when I looked at her face; her expression was worried and upset at the same time and seemed to have certain haste; I worried immediately

"Elise...I thought...you have to come with me"

"What..."

" _Hurry up_!" she didn't give me time to finish the sentence that grabbed me by the arm and dragged me with her; her behavior was unusual for one of her kind...I really alarmed. I started to run to her side, trying to keep up with her; continuing along the way I noticed in the distance a large group of Yuatja, males and females, encircled around something. Alyara slowed her run and pushed her way through the crowd and helped me to pass; I could see what it was...and if I could have, I would have screamed.

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uh oh! What ever happened? You'll find out in the next chapter! Lol! I hope you like this story and don't forget to review!

P.S. The song is "No Remorse" by Golem :)


	16. Broken

_16\. Broken_

Teylar hit Ate'yo with a fist; he spat blood but immediately pounced on him again; the claws that tore the flesh, the blood flowing from their wounds, the roars, the screams of pain...neither of them seemed to give signs of wanting to give up and they continued to attack relentlessly, in a battle far from being friendly. I couldn't do anything but try to bring desperately the air in my lungs; my heart was pounding so hard that it hurt and my hands were shaking convulsively; I was in a panic, unable to comprehend what I was seeing; I held back the tears, think Elise, think!

" _What the fuck happened?!_ " I exclaimed addressed to Alyara, so shocked that I ignored the good manners; she was unimpressed by my words and began to answer

"Honestly, I don't know; I was heading towards the abode of the Elders when I saw them attack each other; I thought it was a regular duel, but as you can see there's no Elder that is monitoring the match" she met my eyes, I understood why she was so worried: only an Elder could authorize them to fight, since they were part of the same clan, but both were acting on their own initiative and without permission from anyone; the consequences for such behavior weren't so serious, but it was virtually impossible for a Yautja behave that way, because any one of them would find it highly dishonorable; this meant that the reason why they were fighting was so severe that even push them to ignore their beliefs. The question now was: why?! Whatever it was I had to and wanted to find a way to stop them; I brought a hand to one of the knives around my waist

"Don't do this" Alyara held me by the shoulder "you may be seriously injured, and your intervention would only worsen things"

"Worse than now they are?!" I said as I looked at those two who acted like wild beasts; Teylar pulled out two blades from his right arm and Ate'yo did the same; the blades collided against each other, the sound startled me

"Listen to my advice, don't get involved; they wouldn't like your interference, now that they have already started no one has the right to stop them" her tone was calm, so quiet as to be almost irritating; honestly I just wanted to send her to fuck off and stop those two imbeciles, but the reason could still keep an eye on my actions; blame her was completely useless. I watched the fight and effectively I realized that if I even just tried to interpose myself between them I seriously risked being killed, crushed by their weight or impaled by their blades; they seemed really angry and ignored everything around them; rationally I couldn't do anything and I simply had to wait until the end of the battle...but how could I? How could I just turn my head and don't look at those wounds? And the difference was obvious: Teylar was stronger, more resilient and above all had much more experience in battle than Ate'yo, I had to admit this; I was really scared...all that blood...

Suddenly Teylar managed to throw Ate'yo on the ground and pointed the blade against his throat; Ate'yo roared against him but Teylar growled louder and forced him to lower his head in submission; it was clear who was the winner. I was terribly sorry for Ate'yo but I was ready to help him to heal his wounds, when Teylar lifted menacingly the blades upwards...the thought came to my brain like a stab: _he wanted to kill him_. At that moment I threw away everything I had been taught, everything I had learned about their culture; I ran to interpose myself between them, the blade came down at an impressive speed

" **Elise!** " Shouted Alyara

Instinctively, I closed my eyes, ready to receive the blow, a blow that never came; I felt the cold metal of the blades touching my arm and a trickle of blood running over my skin, but nothing more. When I opened my eyes, Teylar looked at me with a surprised and angry expression; he was able to stop in time; he leaned towards me, hissing

" _What the hell are you doing? Move immediately!_ "

"...I can't" it was the only thing I could say, opening my arms and bowing the head as a sign of total submission; if battling made things worse, then this was the only alternative

" _Ooman, don't make me lose patience..."_ he stopped when I gave him the best of my smiles, even if the tears were pressing to get out

"I made my choice, master; I accept the consequences" I stared straight into his eyes, his gaze wavered; I had refused him in the worst way, probably I'll regret for the rest of my life an action so dishonorable

"Elise..." he sounded nervous, came over to me so much that I could feel his breath on my skin, so that no one could hear "...I understand...but don't complicate things; at this point, if you intrude..."

"I know, I'm sorry if I'm compromising your role" I whispered softly "so please, if you have to kill him, _then kill me first_ " I begged him; and at that moment I saw something in his eyes that I would never forget: fear; Teylar didn't want to kill me, he was afraid to do it

"...be prepared; you have no idea what you did"

I felt a tremor coming from the blades resting on my arm; then he withdrew the blades and turned away from me; he gave me a look of understanding

"I will take your heads when an Elder will allow me; I will not waste any more time with you" our eyes met again, and at that moment I thanked him thousand and thousand times; Teylar walked away, Alyara gave me a quick glance before following him; I breathed a sigh of relief, in some way I had avoided the worst. I turned to Ate'yo that rose from the ground; he didn't even look at me and walked away while the crowd dispersed; I could understand him, the defeat must have been a terrible humiliation for him, probably he needed time to heal his wounded pride. I followed him at a distance on the way home; I was terribly worried about his injuries but I would be happy to heal him; he walked through the door and headed for his bedroom; I entered shortly after and immediately wanted to make sure of his condition; I could see his back, blood still dripping

"Ate'yo maybe it is better if we take care of your..."

" _What the hell have you DONE_?!" he turned to me launching a ferocious roar; his reaction was so unexpected that I jumped scared; I stared at him in surprise, but I calmed down almost immediately; after all it was normal that he was still angry

"I'm sorry for your defeat, but I am convinced that..."

" _You didn't answer my question! Do you have any idea what you've done_?!" he growled openly against me, his mandibles wide open; when I realized, I was shocked to say the least: he was angry _with me_!

"...I don't understand" I said with a puzzled expression; he pointed at the door, probably referring to the place where the battle had taken place

" _You HUMILIATED me! You humiliated me in front of the whole clan!"_

"! I still don't understand, the match wasn't regular and..." I stopped when he hit the wall of the room with a punch, the metal reverberated for the power of the shot; my body was shaken by a tremor, the words came with difficulty; for the first time...I was afraid of him

"I-I just wanted to help...Teylar was going to kill you; I know I shouldn't intervene but..."

" _So why did you do that_?!" his eyes so full of anger towards me were an unbearable suffering; he advanced menacingly towards me, I instinctively stepped back

"H-how could I not do this? Y-you were going to die, I didn't want..."

" _And you think this might interest me?! Elise, it was a fight, you shouldn't get in my way!_ "

"Ate'yo...maybe you can't understand, but I..." I wanted to tell him, I really wanted to tell him that I loved him, that I couldn't live without him, but I didn't have time...

" _Oh, I understand! I understand only too well!"_ he walked over and I went back even further _"I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE JUST A STUPID_..." _human_ ; he never said that word, but for me it was as if he did. Our gazes locked, my terrified eyes looking at him, and the anger of Ate'yo slipped away instantly; silence fell heavily into the room, interrupted only by Talion that scratched the door in a desperate attempt to enter and protect me

"Elise..." Ate'yo was in shock, his breathing was labored, his eyes wide "I..."

My head was trying to think rationally: it wasn't his fault, he was just angry, he didn't want to say it really...but it was too late; something broke inside me, my body was shaken by tremors and instinctively I grabbed my shoulders to try to control these terrible shivers; a mixture of anger and despair took hold of me

" _I came here...to leave a world that had abandoned me..."_

"Elise" he tried to get closer but I glared him with the look

" _I did my best, I tried...to be what this world wanted, and I was happy to be a huntress, I was happy ...to stay by your side_ " tears were pressing to get out but the anger was stronger " _ **and now you dare to insult me for what I am! Reminding me all that I will never be!**_ " my voice broke, I had reached the limit. He didn't respond to that statement, trying again to get close to me; my anger exploded

" _ **FUCK YOU ATE'YO!"**_ I stepped back suddenly, the automatic door opened and Talion entered the room and charged at him, roaring furiously. I didn't stop to watch; I turned around quickly and ran away, running as fast as I could; I found myself in the street without a clear destination, but kept running; I didn't know where to go, I just wanted a place to be alone...at that moment it occurred to me only one thing: his ship, I could take his ship. I walked to the place where we had left it the last time, and once found it I typed the code to open the door; a sudden yelp behind me made me jump, I turned and saw Talion; I had been so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't realize that he had followed me. The big door opened and I entered with him, closing it immediately after; I went to the control room and turned on the engine without setting the coordinates, I just wanted to get away from this planet...the ship trembled slightly and took off; only then I collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

I stood motionless, unable to do anything except feel the rhythm of my breath and look at the ceiling; Talion approached me, yelping softly; I patted him on the snout and giving him a better look I saw that his teeth were stained with a bright green blood, the blood of Ate'yo... finally the tears slid down my cheeks, the body shaken by sobs; I allowed to desperation to wrap me in its embrace, and I accepted it as an old friend...because I had learned to know it well so long ago...I lay on the ground for an indefinite time, continuing to cry until I calmed down; then I slowly lifted from the ground and staggered to the bathroom, washing my face to catch a bit of lucidity; my image is reflected in the metal foil against the wall, and I didn't like at all what I saw: a creature desperate, afflicted by pain, so weak...so terribly human...No! I was a huntress; I had to prove myself to be something more than the simple image that I saw reflected, I had to do it for myself... and for Ate'yo; and there was only one way to resolve the issue...I headed for the control room and sat down on the large armchair at the center of the room; I wasn't very practical with controls but was still able to set the coordinates. Talion sat down at my feet and yelped

"are you hungry little puppy?" I asked, smiling "don't worry; we will hunt and Mama will give you many beautiful _preys_ " and I will bring to Ate'yo the best trophy he can expect. The ship trembled slightly, following the route established; I sank in the huge armchair and relaxed muscles, I had to be ready.

 _Quadrant Alpha-Beta, Sol Sector 001, Area 23._ _Destination: Earth._


	17. Who are you?

You can't even imagine how difficult it was to write this chapter, so forgive me if you find some mistakes! I still have difficulty with English. Anyway I hope you like it :)

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 _17\. Who are you?_

 _Military base, U.S.A._

Maybe it was crazy, but I had no alternative. There were still a few hours before sunrise, and soon the soldiers would begin to carry out their regular activities; well, they will have to revise their plans, I had no intention of waiting for their awakening. Enter the base was a breeze: using my invisible armor I could act undisturbed, surpassing the fence with barbed wire and tampering the surveillance system to allow Talion not be noticed sooner than expected; it was enough to move some camera. Much more difficult, however, it had been to decide my preys and find the base; at the beginning I had no idea who or what to look for and the thought of trained soldiers was the obvious solution that came to mind, but it took me some time to find them and drive the spaceship had given me many problems; but I had to get used to it, hunting was also this, right? I walked undisturbed to the street, looking Talion that camouflaged in the shadows, and I tried to create a mental map of the place: the infirmary, the training camp, the canteen, dormitories...I placed bombs near each building, if something went wrong I had to make sure that no trace remained of me. Well, my intentions were simple: attract prey, hunting them and take my trophy, but I had to be fast, because probably even one Yautja would have difficulty to face an entire military base; my discussion with Ate'yo had really hurt me and I was doing something contrary to all logic, but I wasn't mad at all. I went right before dormitories and ordered to Talion to approach me; I patted him gently on the head

"Wake them all, my puppy, and bring them to me; please don't get yourself killed" I aimed with the gun at the door of the dormitory and fired a single shot; the boom was terrible and also hit a part of the wall, immediately I heard some screams

"Go!" I ordered, and my hound ran into the building. I deactivated the invisibility and pulled out my knives; the screams grew louder, I heard also some shots, and finally some soldiers emerged from the building with their weapons, mainly guns and rifles; when they saw me, they stopped and looked at me puzzled, probably curious about my mask or clothing. I raised the knife up, ready to strike...but I stopped, as if an invisible force was holding my arm

"Is it some kind of joke?" said one of them, bored; I stared at them one by one, my own race, humans like me...

"Fuck and we even awakened before sunrise!" said another; I realized that I was afraid, because I looked at them and I saw myself; they weren't Yautja, they could feel my own feelings...

"It was a dog what I saw?"

"What the hell is this, a kind of cosplay?"

I heard other soldiers approaching, I risked being captured

"Hey you, come with us, you will have to answer some questions" the soldier approached me with the intention to grab my arm, wasn't I able to fight against my own kind? I really don't...

* _YOU'RE JUST A STUPID HUMAN_ *

I reacted in the same instant in which those words came in my mind; the military didn't even have time to understand what was going on that he found my dagger stuck in his throat; the blood was spurting out everywhere while I resumed my weapon and threw myself against the second opponent, killing him in the same way

"WHAT THE FUCK!..." I managed to cut the throat of a third enemy before the others would start to shoot; I threw myself to the ground and I activated the invisibility, rolling to one side and standing up; other men came out from the building and they were too many to address them all together. I ran toward the infirmary, a building that was in front of the dormitory and went up the fire escape, running as fast as I could; a siren alarm began to resonate incessantly and many soldiers took to the streets; I arrived high enough to get a better view, and in that moment I saw Talion running out of the dormitory, chased by some soldiers. I took aim and fired a burst of shots, regardless of hitting buildings or machines; I killed those men and allowed to my hound to hide, then I continued to look around, trying to guess the next actions of the enemy.

Maybe it was the training that I had endured, or the habit of living among Yautja, but I realized how we humans were effectively weak and predictable; the military followed a specific pattern, grouped into factions and patrolling the area; I fired again, then I decided to go down the fire escape to avoid being detected; I walked to the first group of soldiers that I met, turned off the invisibility and assaulted them with ferocity, preventing them from using weapons at close range; I was surprised at myself for becoming so strong in such a short time; even if they were probably only recruits, it was difficult to think that a girl could overwhelm them so easily; well, I killed two Queens and a bad blood, so what I was doing now was too easy. I felt back in me that exciting feeling of euphoria that the hunt gave; any _prey_ that I killed fed my sense of triumph and the adrenaline was flowing fast through my veins; I picked up the military dog tags of soldiers killed, useful to demonstrate the arduous battle I had faced.

Some time passed, I wouldn't know exactly how much, before I started to feel the tiredness for the clash; although they weren't serious, I had injuries and burns on most part of the body, not to mention that the enemies were rising. It was time to end it here, the important thing was that they understood how much I was dangerous; I had to find an opponent worthy of the name if I wanted to take home a good trophy. I began my research, while around me the soldiers were trying to extinguish the many fires because of the explosions; I clearly saw two figures who continued to give orders and directed operations to regain control of the situation; I knew immediately that they were of a higher degree, perfect. I walked over them and deactivated invisibility; as soon as they saw me, they pointed their weapons at me but I was faster; I fired at one of them and killed him, then I activated the invisibility to avoid being hit by bullets; I approached to the commander stayed alive and again became visible, my gun a few centimeters from his skull; I looked into his eyes and saw that he wasn't afraid to die, the perfect opponent

"Follow me and face me" it was the only thing that I told him, then I walked away from him and watched his reaction. The officer was astonished for a moment, then I saw him as he ordered something to his men, gripped the weapon in the hands and did as I told; the man chased me through the base, followed only by another two men; somehow I managed to bring them out of the base; there was nothing around there, just barren land and rocks; I walked away enough to avoid having problems with reinforcements; I stopped and turned toward them, and I didn't want any interference: I took two shuriken from the belt and killed the recruits that were with him, piercing their head; I aimed the gun and melted the officer's weapon before he could use it again; no firearms. I took off my mask, ready to face him; when he saw my face he was astounded to say the least  
"You're just a teenage girl..."

I didn't want to talk or I would have lost too much time; I took my knives and threw me against him; in response, the soldier grabbed a big hunting knife from his belt; analyzing the situation I was at a distinct disadvantage, both in physical strength that experience, but I had faced worse things. We attacked each other without hesitation, cutting the air with our blades; I tried to hit him quickly and accurately, avoiding an excessive close contact, and once again I was surprised by how much I'd changed, because although it was a fight longer than the others, I was able to penetrate easily the defenses of the trained soldier and stick a dagger in his thigh and one in the hip, forcing him to his knees. I had become stronger than a human, too strong...but this wasn't enough to be a Yautja ...that question went back to torment me: what was I?

"What kind of monster you are"

I looked at the soldier with a surprised expression, I saw him as he tried to stop the blood from his wounds; monster... _monster_! The anger came over me, I stabbed the soldier on the shoulder, causing him to scream in pain; I grabbed him by the hair and forced him to show me the throat; I raised the knife and stared at him with contempt

" _The real monsters are you, you and the disgusting laws of this world_!"

I hit him repeatedly until my anger subsided, the blood spurted everywhere; the truth was that I wasn't just killing a human being, I was desperately trying to kill everything that was human in me; and paradoxically I couldn't, I could never do it...I couldn't stop loving...Continuing to cut flesh and bone finally I got his head; I threw a roar of victory, this was the best trophy I could bring to Ate'yo; I realized one thing: perhaps my appearance was human, but inside I was no longer one of them; perhaps I wasn't a Yautja, but I wasn't a monster...I was a _huntress_...and I shouldn't forget it again.

I put the head in a bag and now I was ready to leave when a noise made me turn instantly; I didn't have time to dodge...and pain fill my body. A recruit; a fucking terrified recruit had shot me with his gun, piercing my body from side to side; I fell to my knees in pain, holding the wound; I looked at the recruit with hate, and he was so terrified to prepare to fire a second shot, but he didn't even have time to take aim that Talion pounced on him and bit his throat, killing him. With great difficulty I grabbed my medical kit and I injected the medicine straight into the stomach; the blood stopped flowing but something was wrong, and touching the wound I realized that the bullet had injured my organs and I was seriously risking an internal bleeding; I ordered Talion to get closer, and I used the protruding bones on his back to get up; I typed a few keys on the device on my left arm to bring here the ship. In those few minutes of waiting, the pain became intense, and I began to feel dizzy; I had to go straight home.

I got on the ship and managed to get it off the ground; for the military base...it had to disappear; so again I pressed a key sequence and the bombs that I had left on the buildings exploded; of that base wouldn't remain that a few grains of dust and I didn't feel guilty for those lives lost. I walked into the control room to set the coordinates, but the pain became even stronger and I collapsed on the floor; my head was spinning terribly, I tried hard to get up but as the minutes passed my attempts were less and less; I didn't want to accept it, but I was dying. Talion walked nervously back and forth, yelping and continuing to look at me; I patted him gently on the face, trying to calm him down; I was forced to ask for help and sent a distress signal, but I didn't know if it would be helpful; I felt more and more weak and I was almost about to faint; I felt shivers down my spine; I was afraid, but not of death...mi thoughts were for Ate'yo, to what I loved him and how much I wanted him; I wanted to show him who I really was and tell him what I felt...I didn't cry, I didn't have the strength to do it

" _I love you_..." I whispered while everything around me became black.


	18. Meeting

_18\. Meeting_

 _Space, Yautja's spaceship_

"Distress signal from the quadrant Alpha-Beta, Sol Sector 001, identification in progress" the Yautja pressed a series of buttons on the console and waited a few seconds for the response "identification completed, Area 27, not far from the Earth, the parameters correspond, we found it, it's the ship we were looking for" the warrior turned in direction of his superior, waiting

"Full speed ahead, I want the squad ready in less than ten minutes, we proceed with the recovery"

"At your orders, warrior Teylar" the Yautja continued typing buttons and track coordinates

"And…" Teylar turned to another Yautja, a young hunter "you inform Ate'yo about the situation and tell him to get ready, we'll meet him at the exit" and having said that, Teylar sat in the chair at the center of the control room, massaging his temples "that stupid Ooman..." he said, sighing heavily.

Alone in his room on the ship, Ate'yo continued training, cutting the air with the blades on his right arm, but the more he tried to concentrate and more felt the frustration growing in him; it was already several hours that he couldn't find peace, continuing to think about why he had behaved like that, as one Yautja novice, a suckling, an idiot; he had let the pride prevailed over reason and had assaulted her without restraint, forgetting that she could be very emotional and reluctant to think rationally; and this was worse than losing a battle; he really felt like an imbecile and frustration kept growing from minute to minute, with the urge to kill something.

When he heard the sound of automatic door that opened turned sharply, looking at the Yautja called Tsan'ten enter the room; his heart beat faster and prayed Paya that there were good news; the young hunter told about the spaceship and that the squad was ready to intervene; when he asked if they could contact the pilot, Tsan'ten shook his head; very bad sign. Ate'yo put on the rest of his armor and mask in record time and headed for the exit of the ship as quickly as possible; when he arrived at destination, a squad of four warriors was there waiting for him, including Teylar; their eyes met just a moment before Ate'yo bowed his head as a sign of respect for his superiors; hadn't the slightest idea how he could return the favor: when he realized that his ship was gone and there was Elise on board, he hadn't made scruples to seek help from Teylar, but he hadn't expected the intervention a whole squad to search her, the best squad to be precise; well, he would think about later, now his priority was to ensure that she was still alive.

Their ship slowly approached to that of Elise, putting on one side; a long metal structure began to get longer to create a passage between the two ships, as a corridor; when the gates of the two ships were connected, the group of Yautja advanced along the passage, reaching the door of the other ship; Ate'yo typed the access code and the door opened; waiting for them on the other side there was Talion, that at first growled menacingly toward them, but when saw Ate'yo immediately began to yelp, pointing towards the control room; the message was all too clear. The Yautja headed to the command center and opened the door; the heart of Ate'yo twitched, and for the first time felt an emotion similar to terror: Elise was lying on the ground, the body motionless and the skin horribly white; Ate'yo immediately ran to kneel next to her, while Teylar ordered other soldiers to take control of the spacecraft; he immediately began to scan her body with the mask, making sure of her condition; a very familiar feeling came back to take possession of him, his heart ached in his chest, his breath accelerated...

"So?" Teylar came up to him and stared at him waiting for an answer; Ate'yo finished the scan, and a sigh of relief came from his mandibles

"She is weak, but alive"

"She will not be for much longer if we don't heal her immediately, bring her on my ship and take care of her; leave the rest to me" Teylar walked away without another word. Ate'yo welcomed Elise's body in his arms, her head resting on his chest, and walked quickly toward the other ship; he entered in the infirmary and stretched her carefully on one of the metal tables; he gently stroked her cheek

"I will not let you die" he said, as he procured the necessary tools for her treatment "you'll come back home and we will clarify everything" and was ready to operate.

* * *

White. Empty. For a while I saw nothing. Then, slowly, the world began to be tinged with color and I regained consciousness of my body

"Elise" a soft and warm voice was calling me; a woman, I was sure of this; I blinked a few times, and finally I was able to focus on what I was looking; I was lying on a bed, the limbs tired and sore, and my eyes crossed with that of Alyara, her long dreadlocks dangling in front of my face

"Elise, can you hear me?"

"...I feel like a whole pack of hounds had stepped on me" I replied with a smile; Alyara sighed and sat down next to me, leaving me all the time needed to stretch the muscles and to sit down; I was still pretty weak, but it could have been worse; I wasn't dead, and it seemed I was back on Yautja Prime; if this wasn't luck...I looked around

"You are in one of the rooms of my house" said Alyara, anticipating my question "I wanted to personally monitor your healing; but I guess that it isn't the only thing you want to ask me" she said smiling; I saw her as she stood up and headed for the door "you need to regain your strength; I will bring you something to eat, and in the meantime I will answer all the questions you want" I started to protest, but she didn't give me the time and left the room. I waited patiently for her return, while a slight apprehension grew inside me, Ate'yo...when we finally sat down facing one another, in front of a delicious plate of steaming meat, I started with my river of questions. Three days, I had been unconscious for three days, and I almost choked when I heard that Teylar had mobilized his warriors to find me; oh great, I have refused him and he saved my life, logical! I wanted to bury in shame; another small scar marked my body, as large as the hole of the bullet that had struck me, and it had been Ate'yo to heal me...I thanked Alyara for her care, she had constantly done a few injections to prevent me from become too weak

"One last thing..." she said hesitantly, standing up and taking a bag which handed me "I have taken the liberty to clean it for you, but to tell you the truth has left me a bit puzzled"

In the bag there was a skull, perfectly clean and polished; certainly it was the head of the soldier, and along with that there were also all the dog tags I had collected

"Thanks Alyara, this trophy is very important to me" I smiled, tying the bag to the belt, and then I got out of bed

"I think you're feeling better now" she smiled "Teylar would like to talk to you, do you want to see him?" although I didn't know what to say I replied yes, at least I had to thank him; Alyara was about to leave but stopped and turned to me

"By the way, I did some research on that word you said to me long ago" she approached me and opened her arms, to my surprise she hugged me "welcome home, _my friend_ "

Those words moved me deeply, I returned her embrace willingly. Alyara left the room and let in Teylar; ok Elise, prepare yourself

"Teylar I ..."

"I don't need your apologies or your thanks, Elise; there is no need and I can't stand the pleasantries" he approached "and however, it isn't the first time that a female rejected me" he said smiling, putting his hand on my shoulder "this doesn't mean I don't care anything about you; I have taught a lot to you, but at the same time I learned a lot from you; this time it's me who should thank you, Ooman"

I stared at him shocked; probably it wasn't our destiny to be together, but I just found another great friend

"Well, thank you anyway, Teylar" I gently touched his hand

"But the next time you are planning to do something so reckless I will come to kill you personally, you understand?"

"Perfectly...can I..." I hesitated a moment before asking "can I hug you?"

"...now don't take too many liberties, Ooman"

"Always the same eh?" we smiled at the same time

"Stop wasting time and go home; he is waiting for you" he said moving away from me. I recovered my armor and went out of their house, the anxiety that tormented me; I should feel happy for being alive, for the fact that things were settling down, that I was doing what I set for myself: to deliver the trophy to Ate'yo; but as usual things were always easier said than done, and when I arrived in front of his house the legs were shaking for the nervous and the embarrassment; come on Elise, you can do it, take a deep breath and...As I entered the door Talion jumped on me, trying to lick my face

"Oh come on, stop Talion!" I turned away and avoided pounds and pounds of drool; I ordered him to sit down and patted him on the head "I am also glad to see you"

" _Elise_..."

His voice, that voice that I had missed so much...Ate'yo was there, in the middle of the hallway, looking at me with an expression surprised and raised at the same time; we stood staring at each other for an indefinite time; I wanted to say something decent, but it occurred to me only a

"Hi..."

"Hi..." he said, and started to approach me; no, this wasn't right, I just won a tough fight, I had to take a dignified attitude and worthy of a huntress; I cleared my throat, hoping not to shiver

"Ate'yo" I began, as he continued to approach "we had an unfortunate discussion a few days ago, and I came here to..."

" _Forgive me_ "

Whatever I had in mind to say I forgot it, my defenses crashed; I watched his eyes, and he seemed more tired than he wanted to show; no, I couldn't behave so rigid when my only thought was to hug him; I took another deep breath

"Would you like to sit down and talk calmly?" I asked him; he nodded and we decided to sit in the kitchen; before I sat down I took off the armor to be more comfortable. We were facing one another, and I had never felt so far away from him; Ate'yo tried to speak first but I stopped him; now or never; I opened the bag and pulled out the skull and dog tags, placing them on the table; he looked at me surprised, I moved the skull to him

"It's for you" I said, blushing not a little; Ate'yo stared at me with wide eyes, his expression was a little funny to be honest; it was time to explanations "It hurt me, it made me really hurt what you said...but I don't regret what I did; and in any case this..." I pointed to the skull "...is my demonstration that I am no longer one of them; yes, maybe some things will never change for me, maybe I will not be able to withstand certain rules, but you told me that I'm fine as I am; and so I will not take offence again if someone will tell me that I am a stupid and weak human, because this is only a part of me" I pointed again the skull "so you don't need to apologize, just...take it, this will remind you all that I am; and...and..." I couldn't stop right now! "and consider it a gift for..." I jumped when I felt his hand on my shoulder

"Now let me talk, please" I looked at him as he stood up from the table and came to sit next to me "Elise, I _must_ apologize to you, for everything" he hesitated before continuing "I...I _lied_ , I lied a lot of times"

I stared at him puzzled and a bit worried, he took a deep breath before starting

"When me and Teylar have discussed to admit you or not in the rite of passage [Chapter 6], I didn't agree, he forced me" I stared at him surprised, he continued "I knew you had made progress but…I was scared, I wanted you safe; and when the bad blood had tampered with our transmission system, I wasn't going to search for source of interference, I was trying to find you [chapter 9]" my heart was beating fast as he continued to talk "and when Teylar proposed you to become his mate...the truth is that the idea of seeing you near that _bastard_ made me furious and I was going to tell you, but I didn't succeed [chapter 10], I preferred to think it was the best choice for you" another deep breath "but I was wrong, and we attacked each other because I had hit him first; I was fighting for you, and paradoxically I let my pride prevailed on what was most important, and you risked dying for it" he put his hand to his chest "I initially thought of being sick; every time the chest was burning terribly and I couldn't breathe; I had made all possible controls and there was nothing unusual; it took me a while to figure out what it was..." he took the soldier's skull in his hands "and when I got it, I realized that a trophy or a battle had no value for such a situation. I don't know how Oomans celebrate this ritual, then I'll ask you my way" he put the skull on the table and put both hands on my shoulders

"Elise, _can I kiss you_?"

At that moment I was sure to faint, but it didn't happen; on the other hand the tears profusely bathed my face and no matter how I tried to dry them, they continued to fall; Ate'yo stared at me alarmed and patted me gently

"I didn't want to offend you; your trophy is valuable, I accept it gladly"

I didn't answer, I asked him just to get closer and leaned my head on his chest, while the sobs grew louder; Ate'yo welcomed me in his arms and purred softly, holding me and running a hand through my hair; as the last time I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths to calm down; I couldn't believe it...was he really mine now? I needed him, I wanted him...

"you can kiss me, Ate'yo" I said, wiping the last tears; he gently took my chin and lifted my head; I felt my cheeks burning as he approached to me and...and laid his lower mandibles on my lips; the contact triggered a shiver down my whole body...but I couldn't hold back a laugh amused; he looked at me puzzled, and perhaps even a little offended

"What's the problem?" he asked

"It's just...this isn't really a kiss" I said, smiling; he instinctively put his hand to the mandibles, evidently had no idea how to kiss me seriously; well, I had every intention of remedying: I asked him to bend down even more to me and to spread the mandibles; I threw my arms around his neck and pressed my lips against his mouth; Ate'yo purred in response and patted my back, causing me a shiver of pleasure; my tongue began to explore his mouth, savoring the taste; he imitated me, and I felt his tongue, long and thin, pass on my teeth and intertwined with mine; I moaned with pleasure, my body burning with desire. Slowly we began to lose control. We continued to kiss more passionately, moaning and panting; I ran my hands through his dread and his purr became a growl that reverberated in his chest; he roughly grabbed my legs and lifted me from the chair, pressing his hot body against mine; Oh shit, he was driving me crazy! I wrapped my legs around his waist as he came out of the kitchen, continuing to kiss me

"I'll take you to bed" he said, panting, and my erogenous zones were wet even more. We went into his room and he made me lie down on his bed, staying on top of me; his muscular and massive body towered over mine and pressed against me as he bit me on the neck; the feeling of a body so big on me sent me into ecstasy; I felt his erection against my groin and a thrill of desire ran through my legs; Ate'yo took off the top of my clothes, the shoulder straps and leather band around my chest, and began to palpate my breasts, continuing to bite my neck and making me groan with pleasure

"Finally I can touch you" he whispered in my ear; in response I stroked his strong arms and ran my nails on his skin

"I could say the same..." I groaned louder when I felt his mouth on my nipples, sucking and licking them at his pleasure. Ate'yo continued to torture my body for an indefinite time, kissing, biting, passing his tongue on my skin, his hands between my legs, pushing me over the edge; I couldn't help but moan and get excited under him, sniffing the intoxicating smell of his musk, while my desire to have him inside me was growing minute by minute. I lifted my hips to encourage him and finally he took off his loincloth and threw it away, along with the rest of my clothes; I felt the tip of his cock rubbing against my opening, I knew well that its size was larger than those of a human being, but I wasn't scared, I trusted him; to confirm my thoughts he whispered softly

"It will not hurt you"

"I know you will not do it" I smiled at him

"I want to be gentle, the body of Oomans is so..."

"Don't say that word!" I warned him

Ate'yo smiled amused, then pressed his lips against mine, in a kiss that took my breath away; his cock slowly entered inside me, and I groaned for that feeling of pain mixed with pleasure; he penetrated me until he met resistance, then pulled it out and tried again, repeating the action to sink more and more inside me, leaving me squirm under him; his strokes became more and more strong, merciless, and began to fuck me roughly; his growls and grunts excited me even more and I dug my nails into his back, moaning and gasping for every stroke; Ate'yo again sank his teeth into my neck and I heard him as he breathed the smell of my skin; more than once he whispered my name in ecstasy and grabbed my hips to keep me closer, continuing to push inside me mercilessly, his claws scratching my skin.

Still kisses, still bites, still moaning, and more than once I begged him to take me again and again, and he was glad to satisfy me. A terrible tremor ran through my body and even his muscles tensed, accelerating even more the rhythm; the orgasm was so intense that I screamed, while Ate'yo threw a terrible roar and filled me with his seed; we remained motionless in that position for a few seconds, panting heavily. Ate'yo slowly pulled out his cock and helped me to stretch my legs that were still shaking with strong emotion; he rolled sideways and lay on his back next to me, breathing deeply; I turned around and he pulled me to himself, inviting me to rest the head on his chest; although I felt tired I just couldn't stay still, and I kept stroking his abs and kiss him on the chest

"It wasn't enough?" he asked

"I can't stop to touch you" I said, kissing his lower mandibles

"You'll still have many opportunities to do it, don't worry" he ran a hand through my hair, and then stroked my naked skin

"...One day...another mate would take my place, I prefer to take advantage of it now until I get the chance" I tried to smile, masking the sadness I felt inside me

"...It will not happen" he leaned over to kiss me "you will be my mate for the rest of my life, this is an oath that I will never break, if you want it"

"I want nothing more, _I love you_ Ate'yo" I gave him a big smile, I was finally able to tell him

" _I love you_ , Elise" we kissed as he wrapped me in a warm hug. I had my house, my family, a place to belong; I searched for so long...and after so much suffering I finally found it.

The End...for now.

* * *

I really hope you enjoyed this story! Tell me what you think, if there is something you didn't like or that you especially liked. Ah, this is the first time ever that I try to describe a sex scene so please don't be too bad to me :) sorry for any mistakes! I thank all the followers and a special thank you to every single person that left me a review :) thanks for your support! kisses, kisses, kisses! and in any case don't worry, my mind is already working on something else...secret, secret!


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